Love Island winner Greg O’Shea has revealed that death threats have been sent to his family.
The reality TV star (24) said messages from online trolls targeting his mother, Carol, and sisters, Laura and Jessie, began flooding in after he split with Amber in September, who he had coupled up with while in the Love Island villa.
“I’ve had people tell me they love me and the whole lot, but I’ve also had people tell me really bad stuff – like death threats and that,” he told Independent.ie.
“It all really just started when me and Amber decided not to continue on our relationship. I can understand why people would be kind of p***ed off that I haven’t tried to follow that Love Island islander lifestyle, but it just wasn’t right for me.
“We had seen each other once in a five- or six-week period. If you’re going to have a happy relationship, you’re going to want to see the other person a lot.
“It’s more so British people were really p***ed off we didn’t try make it last longer.
“It was a bit rattling reading some of the stuff. It’s so creative some of the stuff people come up with, I was like: ‘How does this person even comprehend this sort of stuff?’.”
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The Limerickman – who plays for the Irish sevens rugby team – said years of “locker room banter” have left him with tough skin when it comes to online abuse.
“The big thing was just when they got on to my mother and my sisters. That was a step too far for me, it got me emotionally. Things being said to me I could shrug it off – I’m used to locker room banter with the lads, so I have a hardened shell in that sense.
“I nearly had to comfort them in some ways, because they were upset reading certain stuff. When the death threats slipped out to my mom’s DM’s (Direct Message) and my sister’s DM’s and I had to say, ‘Mom, it’s okay, it’s just these trolls from the a**e end of nowhere’.”
After finishing up as a fill in for Eoghan McDermott on RTÉ 2fm’s breakfast show with Doireann Garrihy this morning, the star said he understands the “upset” over RTÉ’s choice of stand-in for the show, given his lack of presenting experience.
Speaking at the launch of the Just Eat National Takeaway Awards, he told Independent.ie: “I can see why people would be upset. But the thing with RTÉ is that it was the Love Island swap, so Eoghan McDermott went to Love Island Australia and I came from the UK Love Island.
“It was very hard to go into it. My name was attached to RTÉ and I was providing a service to the Irish people. I can see why people would be p***ed off, but that was the swing of things and I was just lucky to be involved.”
While Greg is now focusing on qualifying with the sevens team for to the Olympics, he still plans to return to radio and television again, and said he would be open to more TV work on a show such as I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! or Ireland’s Fittest Family.
He said: “I am getting a bit of stick at the moment for not following the celebrity lifestyle and moving to London and doing the whole Love Island thing, especially because I won the thing.
“I was always mentally in the space that I was coming back to my old life, and I wanted to come home to my team because I want to qualify for the Olympics – that’s my big goal.
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“Initially, I saw myself doing rugby, turning into a solicitor and being boring in an office pushing papers. This [his stint in 2fm] has now happened, and it’s put me in a junction at my life and we’ll see what happens,” he said.
“I just really enjoyed my nine weeks in there. It went so quickly. and Eoghan’s back now but I hope I get another gig with them in the future because they really took care of me.
“I’m not exactly sure where I could fit or what my niche market it is. Obviously I’ve sport, law and now Love Island – it’s a weird concoction. I could see myself doing something like Ireland’s Fittest Family maybe. Obviously, it’s quite Irish and very local, but I could see myself doing that.
“Even if I’m in the mix for I’m A Celebrity…. I could see myself doing it. James Haskell is on it – he’s an ex-rugby player and he did it at the end of his career.”
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