Georgia Steel has said she was “shocked” when she finally watched footage of her controversial kiss with Jack Fowler in Love Island, which prompted one of the biggest fallouts of the series.
Georgia left the programme in Thursday’s episode along with current partner Sam Bird, after they decided not to recouple with anybody else.
Earlier this week the pair were given the ultimatum to either leave the programme together as a couple, or stay but split up, and they chose the latter option, surprising their fellow islanders.
But when the time finally came to face the consequences of their actions, they were unable to, and left the show.
Speaking after exiting the villa, Georgia and Sam said they had a “real relationship”.
Georgia said: “Yes, we split up, however, that showed us just how much we needed each other.”
Responding to the suggestion that their romance was not genuine while in the villa, Georgia said: “We weren’t showy, we didn’t kiss for the sake of it, we didn’t hug because we wanted people to see we were compatible – we were just me and Sam.
“We had a bond that was real, we did let things run naturally, and yes, it is a shame that people didn’t get to see that, but at the end of the day, me and Sam were in a relationship and that’s all that matters.”
Sam added: “We can’t be sure what (viewers) saw, but we were kissing and cuddling and all that, and we also did have small arguments – it’s a real relationship.”
Georgia also addressed the now-infamous kiss with Jack Fowler two weeks ago, which happened when she chose to take him on a date while he was still coupled up with her friend Laura Anderson.
It prompted a villa-wide argument that lasted for several days, and the first break-up of Jack and Laura.
Georgia – who had been licking her wounds after being dumped by Josh Denzel for another girl – had remained adamant that the kiss was mutual and that she was loyal to Laura.
However, viewers spotted that Georgia appeared to initiate the kiss and went back for another one – and that the footage appeared to have been shot multiple times.
Now out of the villa, Georgia said that the date with Jack had been “very flirtatious”, but that she was “very, very shocked” when she finally watched the footage back.
ONE KISS IS ALL IT TAKES… to cause absolute carnage in the villa! 💥💥💥 #LoveIsland pic.twitter.com/eI24X4hReV
— Love Island (@LoveIsland) July 6, 2018
“That is not how I remembered it at all,” she said.
“At the end of the day, things happen for a reason, I made a little mistake, I’m only human, and yes, I kissed him.
“It was only a kiss at the end of the day, I feel like it takes two to tango, and it’s going to take two people to kiss.”
She confirmed that their kiss had also been filmed more than once, because “it’s a television programme, things have to get filmed at different angles, that’s how television works”.
She added: “But nothing is fake, nothing is staged, it’s all to do with how you feel, and if anybody is the person that acts on impulse and how they feel, that’s me.”
Love Island continues on ITV2.