The Villa’s resident good guy Gerard Majda made a shock exit from Love Island on Sunday night when his partner Jessie decided she wanted to explore things with intruder Todd.
The personal trainer with a heart of gold may have struggled to find a romantic connection but he did find himself a good cuddle buddy- and it’s not who we expected.
In an exclusive chat with Now To Love, Gerard spills on the intense reality of living in the Villa plus, why he has no hard feelings for Jessie and hopes fans of the show don’t attack her for her decisions.
Now To Love: That was quite an emotional exit Gerard, was the Jessie drama the nail in the coffin that made you want to leave?
Gerard: Yeah it was. Being away for a month from your family and friends was tough enough but being in the Villa and trying to find a connection with someone and then having it whipped out from underneath you was pretty tough. I had no juice left in the tank in the end but once I made the decision I knew it was the right one, it was like having a massive weight off my shoulders.
You can’t even explain how heightened your emotions are in there. It was a tricky spot but I gave it a real good go and I didn’t leave wondering, even a little bit, ‘What if I did this differently?’ I felt like I did everything I possibly could and unfortunately it just didn’t quite roll my way but that’s just how it goes.
“I had no juice left in the tank in the end.”
(Image: Nine Network)You said you still have a special spot in your heart for Jessie, would you be keen to stay in touch with her?
Absolutely, I think she’s a great person. It’s unfortunate that it didn’t work out but she is a lovely, lovely person. She’s got a really good heart and cares a lot about a lot of people, I’ve got no doubt she cares a lot about me. It’s unfortunate that it didn’t work out but I will definitely be speaking to her once she’s out so I wish her all the best and I hope that people don’t jump on her too hard because that’s just how it goes. It’s a really stressful time being in the Villa and you can’t hide what you’re feeling. If that’s what she felt then that’s fine but no ill feelings towards Jessie, she’s a really lovely girl.
Until you’re in the Villa and you understand how the whole environment makes you feel, I don’t think anybody can judge. It’s such a weird environment to be in but I have nothing but love for Jessie still and I hope everybody sees that. She is in there for the right reasons and I hope she finds something with someone before her time’s up in there.
Gerard has no hard feelings toward Jessie and says he can’t wait to chat to her once she’s out of the Villa.
(Image: Nine Network)Quite a few of your former castmates have talked about how intense it is in there. When was the first moment you realised how full-on it was?
Within the first 24 hours I felt completely out of my depth, it’s just so weird. You have conversations with people you’ve known for a day that you just wouldn’t have in the outside world. You’ve got no distractions, no phones, nothing apart from what’s going on in front of you. You’re not told what to say or anything like that, but pretty much nine times out of ten if you see something going on, that’s something that’s just happened organically.
You completely forget that you’ve got a microphone on or someone’s watching. I’ve seen a couple of little clips since being out and I go ‘Oh my gosh, there was a camera watching me there for this!’ I can’t quite explain it, I’m still trying to process how I feel, it’s so weird! Time in the Villa seems really really slow so time outside is definitely a lot quicker that’s for sure.
“You completely forget that you’ve got a microphone on or someone’s watching.”
(Image: Nine Network)You had a whopping seven bed swaps, so tell us, who was the best person to spoon?
I got around without getting around, it would’ve been an achievement if I did the whole room! When I finally got to couple up with Jessie and share a bed with her, that was pretty special for those few nights but other than that Cynthia gave me a couple of cuddles. I was very close with Cynthia, she was one of my biggest supporters in the Villa and was a great bed partner. She didn’t snore, she didn’t kick me, she didn’t elbow me so she was good to share a bed with.
You became a bit of a fan favourite for your Good Guy image. Would you ever consider going on another reality dating show?
Yeah I’m open to whatever but definitely the search for love continues for me. Not sure where it’s going to come from at this point but hopefully it does happen. But yeah I’m open to whatever, just find me Mrs Majic and I’ll be there!
It may not have worked out with Jessie, but Gerard isn’t ruling out future reality shows to find The One!
(Image: Nine Network)It seemed like you and the boys loved stripping off and getting the rigs out. So which guy had the best body?
I don’t think I was in the equation for best rig, I maybe had the best ass out of the boys but apart from that everyone else had me covered. The twins are up there, they were pretty chiselled when they walked in, they looked almost fake actually!
But we’re all calling it Flab Island because of all the snacks we were smashing into in the early hours of the morning. We were all stressed out and emotional, eating 12 Weet-Bixes each at 2am but I think I almost won the Flab Island contest in the end! They had to start rationing how many cookies and snacks were in there because we were smashing through them all, we were taking the hints when there was only one box of cookies instead of two that they started off with!
Gerard says he and his fellow islanders would find themselves stress snacking.
(Image: Nine Network)Now you’re out, which couple do you think has the most genuine connection?
I think in terms of the best connection, Josh and Anna would be my pick. I haven’t really seen the episodes but just being in there, you can really tell they’re really into each other and there’s no mucking around from either side there. Josh is really really keen to see where everything goes with her and she’s a lovely girl as well and I’m sure she feels the exact same.
Adam and Cartier are fantastic, it’s a pretty funny and weird story of them getting together but I think in terms of a real love connection, I can see Josh and Anna doing some really amazing things post-Villa.
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