Love Island star Niall Aslam has broken his silence following his mysterious departure from the villa earlier this month.
The 23-year-old student took to Instagram on Thursday to share an impassioned post about leaving the villa as he discussed his diagnosis with Aspergers Syndrome as a young child and how that affected him growing him.
He thanked ITV for their support following his departure, in a bold statement following the network’s criticism for its after-care facilities due to the untimely death of season two star Sophie Gradon aged 32 last week.
Speaking out: Love Island star Niall Aslam has broken his silence following his mysterious departure from the villa earlier this month
When news first surfaced of Niall quitting the reality show, it was merely put down to due to ‘personal reasons’ that included insecurities about his ears and his struggle with stress.
He was said to have felt ill before leaving the villa after which Islander Alex George revealed to his devastated co-stars that his pal had departed the show for good.
At the time, a source close to the budding reality star exclusively told MailOnline that Niall – who revealed when arriving on the show last week that he’d had his ears pinned back in May 2017 – departed after struggling with personal issues.
In his first statement since his departure, he revealed he was finally stopping ‘suffering in silence’ as he made his first ever public reveal Asperger syndrome.
Speaking out: The 23-year-old student took to Instagram on Thursday to share an impassioned post about leaving the villa as he discussed his diagnosis with Aspergers Syndrome as a young child and how that affected him growing him
In his message, Niall wrote: ‘Right, so here it goes… for this post I am putting my laying it on thick brush down and hoping to hit the nation with a love potion…
‘For far too long I have suffered in silence and not acknowledged a massive fact about my life which going into the villa has led me to finally realise and accept…
‘When I was a young child I was diagnosed with asperges syndrome, a fact that until this post has never shared outside of my close family…
‘Growing up was extremely difficult for me and I often felt out of place. I always felt that people didn’t understand me, yet I was afraid to reveal my true scales as I did not want the label or stigma that was attached to it…
Open and honest: ‘It’s not been an easy ride for me to come to terms with this fact but I am glad that I can now accept who I am, and am looking forward to my next chapter’
‘But now I think it is important that I come forward, not only so that I can finally be honest with myself and to those around me, but also so that other individuals in my position can embrace their true colours.
‘It’s not been an easy ride for me to come to terms with this fact but I am glad that I can now accept who I am, and am looking forward to my next chapter…
‘I would just like to thank the team at ITV for always backing me and giving me the opportunity to rid my myself of my insecurities and embrace the fact that I am different yet I am still a rainbow fish.
‘I can’t explain how grateful I am for the support from the whole team over this period. I would also like to thank the British public for the love you have all shown me over the past few weeks, it has been overwhelming…
‘Now it’s time for this rainbow fish to dive deep into the big blue ocean and show the world what I’m all about – there’s more layers to come! #AutismAwareness #BeYourOwnKindOfRainbowFish #LessPrangMoreLove’.