Love Island contestant Dejon Noel-Williams has defiantly hit back at 'narcissist' claims, insisting he is an 'empathetic person' after his character was questioned on the ITV2 show.
The former semi-professional footballer, 26, revealed the extent of the backlash he has endured online after his fellow co-stars voted to dump him and girlfriend Megan Moore, 25, from the villa just days before Monday night's final.
Dejon told the Daily Mail in his first interview that he has received thousands of frightening, hateful, and racist messages across Instagram and TikTok and even death threats, causing him to turn off the comments on his profile.
Viewers turned on the personal trainer over their belief he entered the show with a game plan to win the £50,000 prize with Megan, who he remained in a couple with throughout the series, despite continually flirting with bombshell arrivals.
He even accused Megan of attempting to make him 'look bad' in front of the cameras, which filmed the Islanders around the clock, and asked for them to 'sit in silence' during another row, throwing into doubt whether his feelings were genuine.
But Dejon insists his relationship with Megan is the real deal and he was prepared to quit the show after feeling 'lost' and 'confused' by the feedback from new and returning Islanders who had watched how the couple's romance had been poorly portrayed.
Love Island contestant Dejon Noel-Williams has defiantly hit back at 'narcissist' claims, insisting he is an 'empathetic person' after his character was questioned on the ITV2 show
The former semi-professional footballer revealed the extent of the backlash he has endured online after his fellow co-stars voted to dump him and girlfriend Megan Moore from the villa
Viewers turned on the personal trainer over their belief he entered the show with a game plan to win the £50,000 prize with Megan, who he remained in a couple with throughout the series
Dejon said: 'I was away for altogether 10 weeks from the beginning to basically the end. I was in a bubble with no phone and not knowing what was happening on the outside world.
'The first thing that I did when I got my phone back was speak to my friends and family, but my phone was flooded with backlash and hateful messages.
'It got so bad that me and Meg have both decided to turn the comments off, the messages we have both received are no good for our mental health.
'Everyone is coming for me online. I've had everything, death threats, racist comments, hateful comments, I've had everything you could think of.'
Dejon was branded a 'narcissist' by the audience who believe on occasion he manipulated girlfriend Megan as well as female Islanders Malisha Jordan, Billykiss Azeez, and finalist Yasmin Pettet, whom he refused to answer any questions about.
Some viewers maintain that Dejon wasn't transparent with his movements as he continued to date and get to know other women, often complimenting their looks while always keeping Meg, who said she wasn't aware of his flirtatious nature, close.
Dejon also left Meg humiliated by kissing love rival Yasmin and choosing her during the show's challenges, which caused fiery rows between the pair during their final date, historically a time where Islanders confess their loved-up feelings for each other.
Viewers even voiced their criticism towards Dejon when his best pal Harry Cooksley struggled emotionally in his love triangle between Shakira Khan and Helena Ford and was seemingly left uncomforted, which the personal trainer claims is completely inaccurate.
Dejon told the Daily Mail in his first interview that he has received thousands of frightening, hateful, and racist messages across Instagram and TikTok and even death threats
The personal trainer also left Meg humiliated by kissing love rival Yasmin and choosing her during the show's challenges, which caused fiery rows between the pair
Dejon admits he finds being vulnerable difficult, especially in the villa, knowing his every movement was being watched, by the public and his fellow cast mates
He said: 'I do take full accountability for how I communicated at times in the villa.
'The girls who were on the show with me say I'm not a narcissist, I'm not a gaslighter, all of these things they have seen online, it means a lot to me because they spent 24 hours a day with me.
'I could have handled situations better but when it comes to being a 'narcissist' and these words, empathy is definitely something that I have, it's something I had for Meg, for Harry, and when Meg was upset, I was there for her, and when Harry was upset it would break my heart.
'Me and Harry had a thing, we called it fitness and feelings where we would go to the gym and I would say "don't worry H, we can be free here, our tears, people will think they're sweat."'
Dejon, who narrowly missed out on this year's Love Island final, which was won by US Islander Toni Laites and Cach Mercer, admits he finds being vulnerable difficult, especially in the villa, knowing his every movement was being watched, by the public and his fellow cast mates.
He said: 'As the show went on, I felt very lost. I felt very confused. I wanted to go home, really and truly, many times especially when me and Meg were really good and I knew she was for me and I was 100 per cent sure that we would work on the outside world, I wanted to go home.
'The viewers will have seen me joking around but they won't have seen that I have feelings, I have a lot of feelings, but it's hard for me to show them.
'I usually deal with my feelings alone and I would cry alone in my room or by myself but when you're on TV and you're feeling upset and you know the whole nation is watching you but not only that, I'm living with people and there was no place to be by yourself and let things out.
'Harry really helped me with that, Meg, and Helena, she was going through her struggles, and that broke my heart, I had a lot of empathy, and I definitely feel I am a very empathetic person; I can definitely feel other people's pain.'
The Islander says the couple are already planning to move in together and, on Thursday evening, he met Meg's extended family in her hometown of Southampton
US Islander Toni Laites and Cach Mercer won Love Island this year, beating Shakira Khan and Harry Cooksley to the £50,000 prize
Dejon was accused of not standing by close pal Harry who needed comfort in the aftermath of his love triangle with Shakira and Helena, but the fitness coach insists he was supportive
During this year's series, dumped Islanders Megan Forte Clarke and Blu Chegini returned to the villa with the knowledge of how the cast had been edited and perceived by the viewers.
New contestants in the form of bombshells were also regularly entering the villa and according to Dejon, the public's opinion of both him and Megan, who was accused of being a 'mean girl', had been fed back, sparking unease and paranoia.
He said: 'I didn't understand it, we were in the bubble, but we had Islanders who had been in the villa coming back and bombshells, and they're not supposed to speak about the outside world, but they did, and they kept dropping hints and saying words.
'Some Islanders were coming in and they would say, when I'm watching from the outside, it doesn't ever show you and Meg doing these things, laughing together, and that's when I started to think, what's happening? It was the Islanders who watched from the outside that were saying different things.'
Dejon's flirty nature was exposed in the villa on several occasions, during the show's first 'Sleepover' episode and on 'Movie Night', where his complimentary remarks towards Billykiss, who he claimed he hadn't romantically pursued, were aired on a big, cinema screen.
But Dejon, who says he now regrets playing the field, claims he 'misunderstood' the entire point of the show, where contestants are heavily encouraged by producers to explore connections, go on multiple dates and partake in kissing challenges.
He said: 'Yes, I do regret flirting. The show portrayed me flirting a lot, which I held my hands up to, but the show is edited to make entertainment for the viewers.
'The one thing I can definitely say is I did resolve every issue I've ever had, and I have no bad blood with any of the Islanders. When I was exploring connections, me and Meg always communicated.
'I thought on Love Island you needed to find who you have the strongest connections with.
'In the process of doing that I hurt people's feelings, and I didn't intend on doing that. It was hard trying to navigate getting to know different people in the same place, I have never experienced it before.
Dejon's flirty nature was exposed on 'Movie Night', where his complimentary remarks towards Billykiss, who he claimed he hadn't romantically pursued, were aired on a big, cinema screen
This year's drama on the show saw a rift form between the female Islanders, who broke off into two sides, and even host Maya Jama appears to have shown where her allegiances lie
Dejon is confident he won't fall victim to the potential temptations of having a new fanbase, attending celebrity events, and the chance to drink at free bars
'I know I made a lot of mistakes and really and truly I am glad my connection with Meg was so strong that even my regrettable flirting with other girls while we were single and open, she still stood by me. But since we have been boyfriend and girlfriend it's only been her and it will only be her.'
This year's drama on the show saw a rift form between the female Islanders, who broke off into two sides, and even host Maya Jama appears to have shown where her allegiances lie.
Presenter Maya has followed show winner Toni and her three best friends and fellow finalists Shakira and Yasmin on Instagram, while so far choosing to avoid connecting with any of the male contestants.
When asked his opinion on who Maya has decided to follow on Instagram, Dejon replied: 'I don't feel any type of way about that.'
But one woman he is hoping to remain connected with and for the long-term is his girlfriend, who he affectionally nicknamed in the villa 'My Meg.'
Dejon, whose career as a semi-professional footballer saw him play for Watford Academy and Oxford United, says the couple are already planning to move in together and on Thursday evening, he met Meg's extended family in her hometown of Southampton.
He said: 'I had no game plan when I went on Love Island. I went there to find love, and I found it. In the later stages, I said I was ready to go home whenever I got what I came for. I got my girlfriend, and I left the villa with two best friends, Harry and Helena. I was completely happy.
'Being in the villa from day one with Meg, she was the only person I was in a couple with, shared a bed with, I spent 24 hours a day with her and our connection and bond is so strong, we have only not seen each other for one day since we met.
'The one day I didn't see her, I missed her so much. We call each other and FaceTime all the time so the next steps will be living together in London.'
And is Dejon confident he won't fall victim to the potential temptations of having a new fanbase, attending celebrity events, and the chance to drink at free bars, given his co-star Tommy Bradley, fell at the first hurdle by kissing TOWIE's Dani Imbert behind his partner's back at his first glitzy outing.
'No, I'm not worried at all about going to events... The feelings I had for Meg are so rare and it happened so quickly.
'How I feel about Meg is different to how I've felt about any other girl,' he said.
