Scott Thomas has opened up about his shock decision to leave the Love Island villa on tonight’s episode. The star announced to the other islanders that he was leaving today, after ups and downs with his partner Tina Stinnes. Scott spoke to host Maya Jama as he made his exit, and revealed that looking back at his first time on the ITV show back in 2016 - when he was coupled up with Kady McDermott - encouraged him to make the major decision.

“The first time I did this show I had that instant connection with someone, and it made everything so much easier,” he told Maya, referring to his prior romance. Maya asked: “Could that maybe have been the downfall then? Having your first experience, hitting it off straight away with Kady pretty much, and then coming in and maybe expecting the same and it not happening?”. The Manchester native agreed: “Yeah, I think I took it for granted the first time round. To find someone you’ve got that - I call it fireworks. I had a connection with Tina but it wasn’t fireworks, and yeah, it feels like the right decision.”.

Fans on X, formerly known as Twitter, were torn over Scott’s explanation, with some praising his realisation while others thought Tina deserved more of a chance. “Maybe this made Scott realise he’s still in love with Kady,” one person wrote, while another said: “I think Scott was secretly praying kady would enter.”. “Scott looking for a wife but wants the same connection he had with Kady...I wonder where she is lol,” said one viewer, with a fourth sharing: “Help not Scott comparing it to last time I know Kady is loving this rn.”.

Another enraged fan penned: “Scott is so weird. Tina could have got to know so many guys and Scott knew he wasn’t feeling it. I can see why Elma is annoyed because she saved Tina for someone who wasn’t feeling her anyway. Scott wanted fireworks and toxic love like he had with Kady.”. After it emerged that Scott would be leaving the villa, a source told The Sun that he had been struggling to "push past his doubts" about their romance, which had reportedly grown over time - and that leaving may have been the best move for his own happiness.

The insider said that Scott was "unable" to move past the feeling that Tina "wasn't right for him," adding that his "biggest priority" was not "wasting her precious time" in the villa. They added: "After taking some time out with the dedicated Love Island welfare team, Scott decided that the best thing he could do for himself was to remove himself from the situation. He's done so much work over recent years on self-love and he didn't want to force a connection for the sake of it.".