From claims to grovelling statements: A full timeline of the saga with Love Island’s George

Since George Fensom was announced as part of the cast of Love Island 2023, two women have come forward and made claims about their previous relationships with him. On top of this, a number of his old tweets have resurfaced, and he was forced to comment from lockdown before he had even stepped foot in the villa.

Now he’s made it onto the show, and we’re seeing him crack on with girls like nothing’s ever happened, people are calling for him to be axed. A lot has happened in such a small space of time, so here’s a full rundown of the claims made against Love Island 2023’s George, and everything else that has happened in the ongoing saga.

Before Love Island 2023 started, an ex girlfriend came forward with claims George is a ‘cheat’ and a ‘narcissist’

The saga all began before George had even made in onto Love Island, with an ex girlfriend making claims about him pretty much as soon as the cast list was announced.

In a TikTok video, Ebony Skeely posted loads of photos of herself and George, from they were together. In the clip, she claimed George is a “cheat” and a “narcissist”. She also alleged George “begged” her for money, and he “never split a bill”.

She went on to claim George was “controlling” over what she would wear, and would “put down her appearance”. She said he “constantly lied and made empty promises”. In the comments section, she added: “He would also publicly scream in my face and then told his family I was ‘too anxious so had to leave’ at events.”

George later addressed the video in a statement, and said it’s not a reflection of his true character. “I want to be as respectful as I can towards her because I appreciate that she isn’t in the public eye as I am in this scenario,” he said. “It’s really unfortunate and actually quite upsetting on my behalf that a picture has been painted about me in that light.

“I’m looking forward to moving forward with things and going into the villa and just providing a new wave of energy and to prove that the things that have been written about me aren’t true. People can see a different light to me.”

One day later, George was forced to comment about homophobic tweets

Just a day after Ebony posted, people on Twitter found George’s account, and some old tweets which were still live at the time. George had said the f-slur, and referred to things using “gay” as a negative adjective. The tweets were from 2014, when George would have been 15-years-old.

George was forced to make a comment whilst in lockdown ahead of the show, and said: “I honestly just feel absolutely sick about those tweets. They are not who I am today, they couldn’t be any further from the man I am today and you quite frankly, if I could turn back time I wouldn’t even have put those.

“To be honest with you, it’s me being really naive at that age. I made the account back in 2011, so it’s just stupidity on my behalf and doesn’t reflect on who I am today at all.” The tweets were deleted on the same day George commented.

On June 1st, Women’s Aid issued a statement about the claims made about George

Women’s Aid then issued a statement following all the allegations made about George. The charity said it hopes Love Island will “take allegations seriously”, as the show has recently upped its duty of care protocols to include behavioural training in these sorts of issues.

Teresa Parker from Women’s Aid told The Daily Star: “Considering the amount of concern about controlling behaviour that viewers have raised during previous series of Love Island, at Women’s Aid we hope that the producers will be taking these allegations seriously, and looking into them as part of their due diligence before the new series begins.

“We know only too well that abusers can be charming and convincing in public and are able to manipulate others into disbelieving allegations.”

The statement concluded that it is “vital contestants are safe in relationships formed on the show and not exposed to potential partners who have previously been abusive in relationships.”

Then, another of his exes made further claims against him

It wasn’t over then, as George was forced to defend himself again when a further ex spoke out against him. Katie Hewitt dated George for 18 months after they met in a nightclub in 2017. She claimed during this time he cheated, was controlling and drove her to stop eating. She claimed all her experiences have left her with PTSD.

Katie said George would make comments about her appearance and “scream abuse” in public. She also claimed he cheated on her whilst on a boys’ holiday.

“That’s when I started to feel worthless,” she said. “I lost my confidence, stopped eating. But when I asked him to be truthful he would instead accuse me of cheating. He gaslit me into thinking I was crazy so I would doubt myself.” She described still feeling “trapped in the hell” of their relationship.

“I don’t think he’s capable of love as he’s a narcissist,” she added, and said she believes he’s gone on Love Island for fame, brand deals and followers. “I was terrified to speak out, but I hope I can show why it’s important for women to have a voice and not let men like George win.”

Replying to Katie’s claims, George’s family said: “This is a one-sided account of a relationship George had six years ago when he was 18, and this is not behaviour we recognise. These claims are false, unjustified and hurtful.”

Less than a week after George entered the Love Island villa, people were calling to have him axed

The show hasn’t even been on a week, and people are calling for George to be axed given everything that’s been said about him.

ITV told The Tab: “We have spoken to George and his family with regards to the allegations being made on social media. His family have responded with a statement. The safeguarding and ongoing welfare of our contributors is always the top priority.

“As part of our duty of care process, all Islanders undergo psychological evaluation prior to being selected for the show, and we also stipulate that all Islanders participate in our training programme around language and behaviour – this is a very important part of our pre entry procedure.”

Love Island 2023 is on ITV2 and ITVX. 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. 

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• These are all the ages of the Love Island 2023 cast – and yes, they’re really young

• We found the music video Ella was in before Love Island, and it’s not exactly a claim to fame

• Robberies to online slurs: The biggest pre-Love Island dramas and scandals of all time