Former Love Island star Ollie Williams reveals he is engaged

Former Love Island star Ollie Williams has revealed that he is engaged.

The Cornish aristocrat, 26, left the ITV2 reality show just three days into the 2020 Winter series after revealing he was still in love with someone on the outside.

And now he is set to marry that very woman – his fiancée Laura Nofer – after going strong with her for the three years since he went into the villa. 

Alongside snaps of the engagement he wrote: ‘Strange things happen up on the Moor!’, along with a ring emoji.

The left the Love Island villa after a very brief stint after he realised he was still in love with Laura – who he dated for 18 months before doing the show.

Romantic: Alongside snaps of the engagement he wrote: ‘Strange things happen up on the Moor!’, along with a ring emoji

Explaining his reasons for leaving, Ollie, who was coupled up with Paige Turley at the time said in the Beach Hut: ‘I have to be honest with myself, and everyone, that I do still love someone else.

‘I have to follow my heart in this scenario and it would be wrong for me to ignore these feelings. 

‘At the end of the day, this is Love Island and it’s about finding love. ‘If I carried on anything with Paige, or any other girl that might come into the villa, it wouldn’t be fair on them.’ 

It comes after the reality star shared a bloody image to Instagram on Monday with a dead deer.

Following his post, animal rights group PETA slammed the ‘cold-hearted’ viscount-in-waiting, in a statement shared with MailOnline. 

Floods of his fans filled the comments section with shocked responses, calling him ‘disgusting’ while vowing to unfollow him.

PETA Vice President Mimi Bekhechi said: ‘It takes a cold heart to enjoy traumatising, hurting, and killing animals who are minding their own business.

‘The UK public objects to gratuitous violence, so it’s no surprise that Ollie Williams is in the firing line for his callous behaviour.  

 

Under fire: It comes after the reality star shared a bloody image to Instagram on Monday with a dead deer 

Oh no! Ollie – who has denied he is a trophy hunter – previously left fans ‘traumatised’ as he posed with dead deer, which he killed while taking part in a cull in Dartmore 

‘PETA urges him to retire his rifle and recognise that animals deserve care and protection, not to be hunted down and shot.’

In the caption of his post, Ollie had written: ‘A fantastic morning with @paulchilderley on the Chinese Water Deer.

‘They are prolific breeders with a hell of an appetite for seedling crops! 5/6 for the Grand Slam, Sika to go!

‘@fieldsportschannel @benelli_armi @steiner_hunting @seelanduk @gmk_ltd @gateway1_footgear #deerstalking #deercull #deerhunting.’

In response to PETA’s statement, James Aris, a spokesman for the Countryside Alliance said: ‘All serious conservationists are agreed that we need to be culling deer to protect the environment and other wildlife.

‘There are more deer in the United Kingdom than at any time since the Norman Conquest, and in many places, densities are far too high.

‘Overgrazing by deer has been having a huge impact on other species, as well as the biodiversity of our environment due to the excessive browsing of vegetation, including shooting shrubs and sapling trees, that must be protected so they grow to soak up carbon and help fight climate change.

‘With a minuscule carbon footprint – and probably the largest variety of environmental benefits of any meat – venison as a food source is hard to argue with.

‘It is packed with protein, zinc and iron, as well as having the added bonus of being good for the climate. It is irresponsible of PETA or any other animal rights group to criticise those conducting this vital service.’

Ollie – who has denied he is a trophy hunter – previously left fans ‘traumatised’ as he posed with dead deer, which he killed while taking part in a cull in Dartmore.

Taking to Instagram, the influencer who once branded himself a ‘passionate conservationist’ insisted ‘hunting is conservation’ as he boasted about ‘great evening’ spent ‘stalking’ deer.

In one photograph, Ollie crouched down next to the beautiful fallow buck, and in the second could be seen dragging a Roebook by its hind legs.

Ollie captioned the post: ‘A great evening’s stalking with the legend Tom @dartmoor_deer_services…

‘Chuffed to have got my first fallow buck as well as taking a Roebuck in poor condition that was good for the cull. Hats available to buy @cornishsportingagency.

‘@fieldsportschannel @cornishsportingagency #huntingisconservation #deerstalking #cornishsportingagency.’

Made In Chelsea’s Charlie Mills showed his support, commenting: ‘Yes mate! Well done! Keep it up x.’

But Love Island’s Shaughna Phillips was shocked, and many of Ollie’s fans were unimpressed, branding his post: ‘sickening.’

One follower commented: ‘This is horrible how you are putting this all over social media. Another beautiful animal gone out of the wild due to people like yourself. What do you get out of ending such a magnificent animals life ??’

‘It’s so upsetting that this is your passion, such a beautiful animal whose life you have stolen. You have no right,’ wrote another furious fan.

‘How could you just kill something so majestic?’ asked someone else, while another Instagram user fumed: ‘This is so horrible how can you enjoy this?’

One follower said: ‘This is so evil in the first pic it’s alive and in the second it’s dead I’m acc traumatised.’

In March 2020, Ollie shocked fans by taking to social video with a video of himself shooting a deer and boasting about his kill, labelling it: ‘My kind of stockpiling!’ amid the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe.

The Love Island star recorded a short film about how to shoot for venison, which he shared on YouTube and promoted on Instagram – leaving fans aghast.

The footage titled: ‘Hunting Wild Venison: My Kind Of Stockpiling’ starts with Ollie driving to a gun shop with his friend Eddie.

The Love Island star says: ‘We are currently off to get some bullets to do some shooting and stalking this week!’

Once inside the shop he then tells his followers: ‘I always end up walking away from here with something I don’t need…ie, a gun.’

Back at his family’s estate, he gives a lesson in the basics of shooting, explaining about the bullets he likes to use.

He says: ‘When it strikes the animal, it tends to inflict a lot of damage and tends to cause a quick and painless, death. It’s obviously very humane, which is the sort of thing we are looking at.’

The aristocrat then practices shooting at a target, before heading out into the bushes clad in camouflage gear.

Ollie says: ‘Instead of stockpiling in a supermarket, I’m stockpiling in different ways.’

He then finds some innocent deer roaming around, with the sound of a pulsating heartbeat in the background.

The Love Islander lies down and fires his gun. The screen goes black – presumably for dramatic effect.

Then footage shows Ollie himself hanging up the dead venison up inside a giant fridge, before focusing in on the carcass.

Turning to the camera, he says: ‘I wasn’t sure whether or not in the first video I should show the shot.

‘The shot was successful and we’ve got some venison for the larder. But moving forward, if you do wanna see the shot then let me know and I’ll be happy to put it in a video.’

He concludes: ‘But yeh, a successful harvest of wild venison. That’s my kind of stockpiling for you,’ before smiling and giving a thumbs up.

His shocked followers on social media commented in their droves, branding him ‘a disgrace’, ‘sick,’ and ‘a weirdo.’

MailOnline contacted Ollie’s representatives for comment at the time.

Ollie caused outrage after images of him posing next to slaughtered animals in Africa emerged earlier this year, with his family being forced to employ security to keep a 24-hour watch on their Cornish home from animal activists.

In 2020, it was reported that Ollie tried to sell a buffalo head for £8,000 online – five months before the star denied he is a trophy hunter after quitting the ITV2 reality show.

A photo obtained by The Sun shows a now-deleted listing for a Taxidermy Cape Buffalo Shoulder Mount with an asking price of £8,000 and allegedly posted by the star.

According to the website Ollie bought the buffalo head – described as used – at an auction for £648.70 and had hoped to make a healthy profit from the sale, putting the item on eBay in August.

A source told The Sun: ‘Ollie had gone to Holts auctioneers in Norfolk in June and spotted this cape buffalo shoulder mount.

‘He thought it would be an investment and hoped he’d be able to sell it and make a profit but nobody ever bought it.’

The website also confirmed the buffalo head was taken down from eBay.

The Cape Buffalo is one of the dead animals Ollie was seen posing with in photos that sparked a furious viewer backlash and a petition calling for him to be axed.

The heir to the Lanhydrock Estate, who received ‘vile’ threats since leaving the show, insisted that he is ‘passionate about conservation’ and that he left the show on his own terms because he was still in love with his ex.

Ollie said in a statement at the time: ‘Having left the Love Island house I have become aware of the press stories circulating in the UK. I would like to make a number of comments on the various claims and accusations.

‘I had no knowledge of the stories until I had left the Love Island villa and all cast members are unaware of any news stories while they are on the programme. My reasons for leaving Love Island are as communicated on the show.

‘I did not shoot any of the animals shown in the photographs nor have I ever shot as a trophy hunter.

‘I did volunteer to take part in the conservation and anti-poaching programme in Mozambique, a part of which involves old or sick animals being culled. I was there as an observer.

‘The Cornish Sporting Agency was set up in 2017 and has never traded. I feel very passionately about conservation and will continue to support sustainable conservation causes around the globe.

‘These benefit the natural world and the animals which live within it, even if certain elements appear controversial when viewed out of context. As I am no longer in Love Island, I will comment no further on this issue.’

Ollie was pictured posing with a dead warthog, water buffalo and a giant eland – listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The now deleted snaps were said to have been uploaded on to the Instagram account of Ollie’s hunting business, Cornish Sporting Agency.

Backlash: This comes after it was reported that Ollie tried to sell a buffalo head for £8,000 online – five months before the star denied he is a trophy hunter after quitting the reality show

Claim: A photo obtained by The Sun shows a listing for a Taxidermy Cape Buffalo Shoulder Mount with an asking price of £8,000 allegedly posted by him (above with the dead animal)

Alleged: According to the website Ollie bought the buffalo head – described as used – at an auction for £648.70 and had hoped to make a healthy profit from the sale, putting the item on eBay in August

The business is listed on Companies House as a ‘hunting, trapping and related service activities’ and is registered at the Lanhydrock estate, now controlled by the National Trust after being given away by Ollie’s great-great uncle in 1953.

In one of the photos, Ollie is seen kneeling beside one of the animals with the caption: ‘You’ve gotta love it when you put your binos up and see a bull like this on the other end!’

The Cornish Sporting Agency, which was taken offline in November 2018, offered hunting trips to countries like Mozambique and South Africa as well as bird shooting in the South West of England and deer stalking in New Zealand.

Sources close to Ollie claimed the photos were of him ‘culling sick animals’ and that it was untrue that he is involved in hunting for sport.