Dumped Love Island contestant Haris Namani said a video from before his time on the ITV2 reality show which appeared to show him involved in a street fight is “not a reflection” of his character.
The 21-year-old TV salesman from Doncaster departed the Love Island villa during Wednesday’s show alongside Swansea-based payroll administrator Anna-May Robey.
After his exit, Namani said: “I’m devastated that this video has been seen, it’s not a reflection of my character. I’m not someone that goes looking for fights and I didn’t want to be in that situation.
😢FIRST LOOK😢
The heat is on around the firepit, as two more Islanders face being dumped immediately… #LoveIsland pic.twitter.com/igpOh6cyrM
— Love Island (@LoveIsland) January 25, 2023
“This was a heat of the moment thing. The video doesn’t show everything that happened. Afterwards we met up and we cleared the air, we’ve shaken hands and we get along now. It’s not something that would happen again.”
During his time in the villa, he was involved in a heated exchange with airport security officer Shaq Muhammad following a game of beer pong.
The game saw Shaq’s partner kissed by newcomer David Salako. Afterwards, Namani quizzed Shaq about the kiss before Shaq accused him of attempting to aggravate the situation.
However, they later appeared to settle their differences.
Speaking about the disagreement, Namani said: “I knew 100% nothing would have come from that disagreement and we would hug it out.
“I said sorry for my part and he said the same, and that’s it. We were the first two in and we got along after that as normal.”
During his time in the show, Namani seemingly struck up a relationship with 27-year-old Olivia Hawkins.
He said: “It was only just getting good! From the get-go me and her had mutual attraction to each other. When we coupled up I felt we were getting closer than we were at the start.
“She’s a very good-looking girl, her energy, the way she presented herself, the flirting, the funny side to her, she was a nice girl as well.
“I hope she does well and I hope she finds the right boy for herself. You never know what could happen. Never say never.”
Both Namani and Robey said farmer and Tik Tok star Will Young was the funniest in the villa.
Love Island continues on ITV2 and ITVX.