{"id":325456,"date":"2026-03-02T20:22:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T20:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/325456\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T20:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T20:22:10","slug":"revealed-love-islands-toni-laites-and-cach-mercer-have-secretly-split-here-the-mail-takes-you-inside-the-explosive-row-at-brits-which-ended-the-dream-and-reveals-which-very-glamorous-friend-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/325456\/","title":{"rendered":"Revealed: Love Island’s Toni Laites and Cach Mercer ‘have secretly split’. Here, the Mail takes you inside the explosive row at BRITs which ended the dream – and reveals which very glamorous friend is comforting him…"},"content":{"rendered":"

They were an unlikely couple. She, a pool party waitress from Las Vegas<\/a> and he, a professional dancer from East London<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But when Toni Laites and Cach Mercer met on Love Island last year, sparks flew and the pair quickly won the hearts of the nation.<\/p>\n

Certainly, when they appeared on the red carpet at the BRIT Awards<\/a> in Manchester on Saturday, they looked more loved-up than ever, posing for photos together and stopping for interviews.<\/p>\n

The ceremony also fell on Cach\u2019s 25th birthday \u2013 and Toni, also 25, had posted a heartfelt tribute to her boyfriend on Instagram<\/a> just hours before they arrived at the Co-op Live arena.<\/p>\n

However, the Daily Mail can reveal today that their loved-up appearance did not last long.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Less than a year after the couple won the ITV2<\/a> dating show together, their romance appears to have come to a swift end during the BRITs ceremony itself.<\/p>\n

Sources say the pair had an explosive row during the event, after which Cach stormed out halfway through the show and did not return for the rest of the evening.<\/p>\n

Insiders have confirmed to the Daily Mail that they have now split for good.<\/p>\n

\"Toni <\/p>\n

Toni Laites and Cach Mercer turned up at the BRIT awards together on Saturday but left separately after a row<\/p>\n

\"Speaking <\/p>\n

Speaking with former Love Island contestant Olivia Attwood (pictured) on her podcast, Toni revealed she was \u2018in love\u2019. \u2018I want to get married, like tomorrow\u2019, she added<\/p>\n

Although neither Cach nor Toni are planning to announce the break-up publicly on social media, the signs are already there. The pair have unfollowed each other on Instagram and, despite both posting pictures from the BRITs, neither included any of the other.<\/p>\n

Cach is said to be distraught.<\/p>\n

\u2018They\u2019ve been on the rocks for a little while, but this was the final straw,\u2019 one insider said.<\/p>\n

Another added: ‘They are hoping to work through it.’<\/p>\n

Toni attended the BRITs as a guest of beauty brand Garnier, alongside several other Love Islanders and one of her close friends from inside the villa, Shakira Khan.<\/p>\n

The pair did not attend any official BRITs after-parties together. Instead, Shakira later headed to celebrity hotspot Chinawhite with her sister and a few other friends, while Toni stayed back at the hotel.<\/p>\n

A source said: \u2018Toni was really upset and, of course, still is. She\u2019d hoped they\u2019d really go the distance.\u2019<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Cach attended the ceremony as a guest of Google Pixel, along with Toni\u2019s other best friend, Yasmin Pettet.<\/p>\n

After Cach stormed out of the show, he and Yasmin both attended the Warner BRITs party hosted at The Cut & Craft bar in the city centre, where they stayed until the early hours of the morning.<\/p>\n

Cach and Yasmin were pictured separately at the party but shared a selfie together on Instagram. They spent much of the evening together, enjoying cocktails and partying alongside A-list stars including Dua Lipa and James Blunt.<\/p>\n

But those who saw Cach that evening say he did not seem himself.<\/p>\n

\u2018Cach didn\u2019t look in the highest of spirits on Saturday night. He was there with Yasmin, without Toni, which everyone thought was odd.<\/p>\n

\u2018He was visibly quieter and not his usual bubbly self. Clearly, something was bothering him.<\/p>\n

\u2018Cach is a dancer. He spent some time on the dance floor, but spent most of the evening looking a bit lost. Especially when Yasmin was off talking to others.<\/p>\n

\u2018When Yasmin left, he was seen chatting to lots of different people and women throughout the night.<\/p>\n

\u2018It seemed obvious that he was single.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"During <\/p>\n

During their time in the Love Island villa, Toni and Cach went through a messy break-up before eventually finding their way back to each other<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The couple as they are announced the winners of Love Island.\u00a0Many friends of the couple are said to be stunned by the split. Only recently, Cach had shared his plans to propose to Toni<\/p>\n

Those at the event say he spent much of the evening surrounded by other newly single Islanders, including Dami Hope and Ella Thomas. Other Love Island stars, including Amber Rose Gill and Montana Brown, later joined them.<\/p>\n

Many friends of the couple are said to be stunned by the split. Only recently, Cach had shared his plans to propose to Toni.<\/p>\n

Appearing on a Twitch livestream two weeks ago with fellow Love Island star Tyrique Hyde, Cach declared that Toni was his \u2018first love\u2019.<\/p>\n

Tyrique then asked Cach whether he and Toni were planning marriage and kids. A taken-aback Cach responded that it was \u2018really fast\u2019 for kids, but that he would consider it \u2018when the timing\u2019s right\u2019.<\/p>\n

But Tyrique pointed out that the dancer had avoided answering his question about marriage, and quipped: \u2018You didn\u2019t say anything about marriage. Toni, you\u2019re going to get that ring soon!\u2019<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, American-born Toni had also spoken about marriage \u2013 and staying in Britain, after securing a visa in October \u2013 just two weeks ago.<\/p>\n

Speaking with former Love Island contestant Olivia Attwood on her podcast, she revealed she was \u2018in love\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018I want to get married, like tomorrow\u2019, she added.<\/p>\n

Olivia replied: \u2018Do you think an engagement is on the cards? Do you talk about it?\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

To which Toni said: \u2018I mean, I don\u2019t want to be delusional. I don\u2019t think I am, but like not any time soon. He\u2019s younger than me.\u2019<\/p>\n

Their latest split is not the first time the couple have faced difficulties in their relationship.<\/p>\n

During their time in the Love Island villa, they went through a messy break-up before eventually finding their way back to each other.<\/p>\n

Toni had her head turned by Harrison Solomon before he dumped her for another contestant, Lauren Wood, and subsequently left the show.<\/p>\n

She and Cach later rekindled their romance and declared their love for one another.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They went on to win the series, scooping the \u00a350,000 prize, with Connecticut-born Toni confirming she planned to remain in the UK with Cach.<\/p>\n

She said at the time: \u2018I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll be spending much time in America anymore. No decisions are made yet.<\/p>\n

\u2018But obviously Cach is here. I have a lot of opportunities coming up. My friends are here. So I see no reason to be in America anymore.\u2019<\/p>\n

After being granted her visa, Toni has now found a new apartment after living in temporary accommodation since the show ended. Cach still lives with his brother and sister.<\/p>\n

However, Toni previously admitted that \u2018it hasn\u2019t been easy\u2019 adjusting to life after winning the show and described her newfound fame as \u2018surreal\u2019.<\/p>\n

She added that, despite the toll living in a new country had taken on her, she was working to get back to her \u2018old self\u2019.<\/p>\n

It seems that Toni might now be navigating that journey on her own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"They were an unlikely couple. She, a pool party waitress from Las Vegas and he, a professional dancer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":325457,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[539,93,61,60,1489],"class_list":["post-325456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-dailymail","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-tvshowbiz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=325456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325456\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=325456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=325456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}