Former ‘Love Island’ star Adam Collard has responded to the backlash sparked by his treatment of fellow contestant Rosie Williams in the villa, following his elimination earlier this week.

Last month, Adam got on the wrong side of viewers when he ditched Rosie for newcomer Zara McDermott in full view of the other islanders, without warning his then-partner what he planned to do.

When she confronted him, Adam accused his ex of being “arsey” and overreacting, which ruffled feathers among viewers, many of whom complained to Ofcom, while Women’s Aid issued a statement claiming his actions represented a red flag that women should be on the look-out for in their own relationships.

Having now left the villa, Adam has returned to Instagram, reflecting on his behaviour in a lengthy post.

He said: “The hard part about [leaving] is leaving all of the my friends. Everyone of those islanders in there are amazing and I really have made friends for life.

“Everything about my time in the villa was amazing and I can’t thank everybody enough for the support both inside and out of the villa.

“My friends, family, the people behind the scenes for giving me this opportunity, the public, and a certain special girl that’s brought out a different side to me that I didn’t even know I ever had.”

Adam continued: “I never intended to upset anybody along the way at any time, and I hope that I have and can show people that in upcoming weeks.

“Everybody back home in the public has been amazing, understanding and I really can’t believe the support I’ve got for a normal kid from Newcastle. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t ready to go home as anybody around me in those last few days knew that I wasn’t myself and my head was elsewhere.”

Revealing he intends to pursue a relationship with Zara, he noted: “My time in this villa was amazing but I’m just as excited to see what’s around the corner.

“But my first and only real intention is to go chase a special girl from Upminster as I’d already won the best prize in Love island the moment she walked in…”

Adam was eliminated as part of a shock quadruple-dumping in Thursday night’s episode, with his partner Darylle Sargent also being sent packing, along with recent newcomers Ellie Jones and Alex Miller.

‘Love Island’ continues on Monday at 9pm on ITV.