Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
My heartbreak over Jake
» Jo Poole despised the way Jake treated her daughter » She’s proud of her girl for being honest and quitting villa
THE mum of Love Island contestant Liberty Poole says it was “heartbreaking” to see the way Jake Cornish treated her daughter on TV.
But after watching the way Libby handled their break-up and quit the villa just days before tomorrow night’s final, Jo, 49, said she was extremely proud of her girl.
She also revealed she was worried about Libby appearing on the ITV reality show – and was thrilled to have been reunited with her girl.
Speaking from Mallorca, where this year’s series was filmed, Jo said: “It was an emotional journey, and I’m grateful she’s with me.”
Birmingham lass Liberty, 22, left Love Island on Friday morning and walked away with Jake – making them the first couple in the show’s history to quit the villa together.
The pair, dubbed “Jiberty” by fans, had been favourites to win because their bond seemed so strong.
They were drawn to each other from Day 1 of the competition and became an item soon afterwards.
But their relationship faltered after Jake, 24, told Libby her messiness gave him “the ick”.
Producers also showed
Libby a clip of Jake saying he did not fancy her enough to “rip her clothes off ”.
She later told Jake they were not right for each other because he did not love her for who she is.
And mum Jo reckons Liberty was right to call it off. She said:
“I was really looking forward to meeting Jake.
“But from what I’ve seen,
Liberty totally made the right decision.”
Jo added: “I think Jake has had a rough time and if Libby is saying he is a nice person, then I have to stick with that.
“But it was heartbreaking because she was looking for love and he was as well.
“I wanted it to be that true love – either a passionate love or the kind where it’s, ‘I care for you and want to make you feel safe.’ I didn’t see that from him towards my daughter and she definitely deserved that so made the right call.”
Viewers watched the couple’s final date on a yacht in the Mediterranean before water engineer Jake and Nando’s worker Liberty agreed it was over.
Despite their seven-week romance and four weeks as official boyfriend and girlfriend, he barely put up a fight to save the relationship. Jake’s comments about Libby being messy angered fans who took
to social media to accuse him of “negging” – making flirty but negative comments to belittle and change a partner – but Libby made it clear she won’t change for anyone.
She said: “You want someone who accepts you for you.
“I think the little things he was saying to me… and other little things started to add up. I do think Jake is a genuine guy.
“I’d hate to say he was emotionally abusive. We were going up and then down. I don’t think a relationship should feel like that.”
Property developer Jo thinks Libby shares her belief that a woman should never settle for the wrong man.
She said: “She has a lot of positive relationship role models in the family and knows her worth. “I was single for 10 years and focused on bringing up Libby. I hope I set a good example.” Jo also told how she was worried when Libby said she was going on Love
Island. The show has been criticised after host Caroline Flack and contestants Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis took their own lives.
Jo said: “I was very concerned – but the support network was reassuring. We were interviewed by a psychologist at least three times.
“I told Libby, ‘You don’t have to do this. It’s not important’. But she said, ‘Mum, this is something I want to do’. She said, ‘My motive is to set a good example to young people’ – and I believe she did that. Libby got everything she wanted apart from true love, but she wasn’t prepared to compromise. I’m super proud.”
Jo now hopes Libby will finish her degree but said she wants to “pack her bags and explore the world”, and added: “I’m proud of her whatever she does.”