26-year old Jacques O’Neill, who was born in Barrow, entered the Love Island villa for the show’s eighth series back in 2022.

After a short stint on the series Jacques, who is also a former professional rugby league player, left the show saying he needed to ‘get back to himself’.

Now the Cumbrian reality TV star has been praised by many on social media for sharing how he has ‘started his life again’, becoming a caregiver- a role which he says has ‘saved him’.

Jacques, who played junior rugby for Askam RLFC, said that since ‘he was a kid, rugby was all he ever knew’.

Jacques said he got ‘caught up’ in everything which came after Love Island. (Image: Instagram)

However, just as his career started to ‘get going’, Jacques started with injuries, ‘one after another’ with the Castleford Tigers player feeling like he ‘couldn’t catch a break’.

In his post, Jacques said: “When Love Island called I said ‘yes’… but for all the wrong reasons. I wasn’t ready for it, mentally, emotionally, maturity, I was just a lost boy who was so angry at the world.

“But instead of working on myself I got caught up in everything what came after the show, what I also wasn’t ready for, on Instagram it looked like I was living the dream, the car, the apartment, the travelling…hanging out with people who I never thought I’d even be in the same room as, working with brands that I work since a kid it was all a bit crazy.”

The former Love Island star is a now a full-time carer giver. (Image: Instagram)

The 26-year-old said that during that time he felt ‘more lost and empty than ever’, realising he had hit ‘rock bottom’ when he looked in the mirror and didn’t know who he was anymore.

It was then Jacques said he knew he ‘needed to change’.

It was at this point, the former rugby league professional became a caregiver, a role he said gave him ‘something he had been missing: purpose’.

Jacques with Denum, who he says has ‘changed his life’. (Image: Instagram)

In the post on social media, Jacques said: “Everything only started to change when this boy came in to my life, Denum, now my best friend and little brother who I love so much.

“I started caring for these lads 4x a week, they gave me a reason to show up again. They saved me.

“From starting to care for them lads, I rebuilt my body, my mind, and my standards. I’m now a man that will never lose himself again. I’m resilient.”