Love Island UK has removed a Casa Amor contestant mid-season after producers became aware he was named in court documents connected to a seven-year-old stabbing case — a discovery that slipped through the show’s standard vetting process because the contestant was never charged with any crime.
“Gabriel has now left the Villa and will not be returning,” an ITV spokesperson confirmed. The 24-year-old London model was cut after producers learned of his connection to a 2019 attack.
Court documents relating to the conviction of Vitor Mazzer reportedly name Garland as present at a New Year’s Eve party in southeast London in 2019, where two people were stabbed. The documents state that the victims had been involved in an altercation with Garland before Mazzer carried out the attack. Garland was not charged with any criminal offence in connection with the incident. Mazzer was convicted of two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison.
Because Garland was never convicted of any wrongdoing, his connection to the case did not surface during ITV’s background checks — the precise reason producers say they were not aware of it before he entered the villa. The surprise exit has reignited debate about the show’s vetting procedures, with some viewers questioning how a contestant could enter and begin filming before producers became aware of the matter, while others argue that being named in a case without being charged should not end a person’s participation.
Garland will still appear in the episode introducing the Casa Amor bombshells, which aired Sunday, before being edited out of subsequent episodes. ITV cited its duty of care toward participants in declining to elaborate further.
Garland is the second contestant to leave the current series under unusual circumstances. George Knight also exited earlier in the season, with ITV initially citing personal reasons. The back-to-back departures have added to scrutiny of how the long-running ITV2 series manages contestant welfare and pre-broadcast screening, particularly as the Casa Amor twist — designed to test couples’ loyalty through a fresh wave of arrivals — generates some of the franchise’s highest viewership each year.
