Love Island dumpee Joe Garratt has defended himself from accusations of controlling behaviour, insisting he did not manipulate partner Lucie Donlan. 

The catering company owner came in for criticism from viewers and women’s charity campaigners earlier this week, after he told Lucie he was uncomfortable about her “strange” and “disrespectful” friendship with Tommy Fury. 

It was then revealed TV watchdog Ofcom had received complaints about Lucie’s treatment at the hands of Joe and some of the female Islanders, with the number now topping over 600. 

Following his departure from the villa on Tuesday, when he was voted off alongside Elma Pazar, Joe has now addressed the controversy in an interview with The Sun, stating: “I didn’t manipulate or abuse her.”

He told the paper: “I am gutted that it has been perceived in that way because it wasn’t like that at all.

“I always had Lucie’s best interests at heart and I promise you I would do everything and anything to help her because she had a hard time in there and didn’t get on with the girls. I was trying to help her and make her experience as amazing as possible. I thought I did right.”

Joe added: “I didn’t know how I was coming across on the outside. I had no idea that I was being perceived in that sense.”

He also said he was “not going to say sorry” as he believes he has not done anything wrong, and the “heightened pressure” of the villa makes people behave differently to how they would on the outside. 

He added: “I may have worded things wrong and the cameras are on you 24/7. I may have slipped up a bit but I am only human.”

Joe was also confident Lucie would back him up upon her eventual exit from the ITV2 reality show, admitting he thinks she will be “shocked” by the accusations. 

“She will look at it and say, ‘That is not the Joe I met, that is not the Joe I know’. I think she will be upset about what has come out because it is not me,” he said. 

Joe has now arrived back in the UK from Mallorca where Love Island is filmed. 

Show bosses previously spoke out to deny claims he was being kept in a “safehouse” following the headlines he made during his time in the villa. 

They also insisted Lucie was receiving support from on-site professionals, after viewers raised concerns about her emotional wellbeing. 

Meanwhile, viewers last night saw Lucie decide to stay on the Island following Joe’s departure, with her later admitting to the girls she would be open to the idea of getting to know new male Islanders. 

Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2.