‘I wish we left together’: Brad says he and Lucinda are ‘faultless’ and he will ‘wait it out’

The dumpings on Love Island have been pretty brutal this year. Shannon was ditched after just two days, Chuggs lasted even less time and then Rachel was shown the door shortly after. But none of them were as savage as Love Island last night, which saw the sad exit of Brad McClelland.

Brad was coupled up with Lucinda Strafford, and the pair found themselves in the bottom three couples after being voted least compatible by the public. When it was revealed they had received the least amount of votes, they had to decide between themselves who went and who stayed, or if they wanted to leave the 2021 villa together. Lots of their fellow Islanders believed that if they really liked one another, the logical solution was to go together, but Brad did the gentlemanly thing and walked, leaving Lucinda to carry on, on the show alone.

Here’s everything Brad had to say in his exit interview from Love Island 2021.

Brad straight away knew he would leave

When faced with the choice they had, how easy was it for Brad to decide he would be the one to go? When asked, he told ITV: “For me, straight off, I said ‘I’ll leave’. I’m kind of hoping she [Lucinda] doesn’t find love in there, because maybe we can carry on from where we left off. I had a bit more time than her, so going off time alone it’s only fair that she got her fair shot at it.”

Brad says he hoped Lucinda would have left with him

He said that on the night, he didn’t want her to leave but said they had a “connection” and “it would be really nice to take what we had and continue it on the outside.” However, he said that waking up this morning he feels slightly different, and now wishes she had left the villa with him. “I want to see where that could have went,” he said. “Not being able to speak to Cind, or ask her where she’s at, I want to know how she’s woke up this morning.”

He will still be watching the show and will be straight in Lucinda’s DMs if she leaves single

When asked if he will continue watching, Brad said: “Of course. I want to watch how my pals are getting along, lads and lasses. And then for me I’ll be keeping an eye on Cinds, seeing who’s going in there, see if they’re treating her well. I’m a fan of the show anyway, I’ll watch to see what’s happening. If Cinds leaves single, I’ll be straight in her DMs, I’ll get myself down to Brighton and see if we’re going to go for an ice-cream along the beach.” Is Brad… cute?

Brad said his gut instinct is to wait for Lucinda whilst she’s still in the Love Island villa

So the big question is, will Brad wait for her on the outside? “Do you wait for like six weeks, hoping that she isn’t [with someone] and then missing opportunities? Or do you rush in and forget about Cind and move on… I’m in no rush,” he said. “I didn’t expect to find anyone like her in there. My gut instinct would be to wait it out, see where it’s at and continue on, just to see if it was a good thing. It started off more than well. It was unreal. It would be sad not to see how it would go on the outside.”

He added that he would “love to go to Brighton” and meet the people he and Lucinda spoke about together, adding that he would also love to bring her to Amble.

He said he and Lucinda were ‘faultless’ and shouldn’t have been in the bottom

When asked if he really thought he and Lucinda were incompatible and if he was surprised they were voted that by the public, Brad said: “Me and Cind were faultless. Everyone was commenting on how happy I looked, how happy Cinds was. Cinds was telling me how happy she was with me and vice versa. Everyone could notice it. I think if you were to ask the Islanders in there, who is the most compatible couple in there, me and Cind would have been right up there. Especially considering there was friendship couples. Unfortunately, mine and Cinds’ time as a couple got cut short.”

He instead said the bottom should have been Sharon and Hugo or Aaron and Kaz, because they are friendship couples.

He described his villa experience as ‘unreal’

Despite his abrupt exit, summarising Love Island 2021 for him, Brad said it was “unreal” but did admit it was “unfortunately cut short”. “Before I met Lucinda everything was good, chilled. Lucinda walked in, blew my mind and from that moment I was buzzing. I was waking up each morning wanting to be around someone’s company,” he added. He said his favourite moment was when Lucinda walked in and their date together.

He said his only regret is not being there still, and said: “If I got the opportunity to go back in there then I would. I don’t personally have any regrets as I went in there and I was myself. I just regret not being in there longer.”

And finally, if you could message Lucinda now, what would you say?

Brad responded: “Meet us outside the villa for a chat… ha ha. I’d tell her how I felt this morning and put it out there that what we had was good. Waking up this morning, it was better than what I even thought… I got attached to you more than I thought I had and leaving that night made me realise that. But if something can happen on the outside then great, continue that on. But enjoy your experience, you deserve it, you’re a good lass, look after yourself.”

Love Island 2021 continues on ITV2 at 9pm tonight. For all the latest Love Island news and gossip and for the best memes and quizzes, like The Holy Church of Love Island on Facebook. 

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