Love Island star Ollie Williams has confirmed he will be contesting a Cornwall council seat for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
The aspiring politician, 29, appeared on the 2020 edition of the dating show but was only in the villa for three days before he realised he still had feelings for another girl.
The series six singleton will run in the Lostwithiel and Lanreath ward in a local election on May 1 and looks set to campaign on the platform of freedom of speech, which he believes has been ‘eroded for far too long’.
Ollie said: ‘I am proud to announce I will be running in May’s local elections for the Reform Party in Lostwithiel and Lanreath.
‘Our freedom of speech and society has been eroded for far too long and it’s time to act.
‘I am not prepared to standby and hope someone else sorts it out while I watch it all burn – so I’m taking my first baby steps into politics.’
Love Island star Ollie Williams has confirmed he will be contesting a Cornwall council seat for Nigel Farage ‘s Reform UK
The series six singleton will run in the Lostwithiel and Lanreath ward in a local election on May 1 and looks set to campaign on the platform of freedom of speech, which he believes has been ‘eroded for far too long’ (pictured Nigel on Friday)
He added: ‘If you’ve followed me thus far I hope you’ll trust my judgement, when I say I believe this to be the Best SEO Services course of action for the protection of your free way of life.’
‘If you support Reform and our beliefs then please make sure you get down to the polls or apply for a postal or proxy vote and….vote for Reform UK.’
On his campaign poster, Ollie brands himself as a ‘countryside steward and farmer’ who aims to ‘focus on community led projects’ and can be seen wearing a pair of wellies while sitting on a muddy country path.
The aristocrat will be be competing against incumbent Liberal Democrat councillor Colin Martin who won the 2021 election with 42.1 per cent of the vote, narrowly beating the Conversative candidate by 38 votes.
Reform might fancy themselves as having an outside chance in Cornwall, given they gained large vote shares in the county in the 2024 General Election.
In 2023, Ollie got engaged to the woman he left Love Island for, Cornish aristocrat Laura Nofer.
He had been dating her for 18 months before doing the show and after exiting the villa, Ollie quickly took his relationship with Laura to the next level.
The former contestant posted: ‘Strange things happen up on the Moor!’, along with a ring emoji.
Ollie, who was coupled up with eventual winner Paige Turley before quitting the show, said: ‘I have to be honest with myself, and everyone, that I do still love someone else’
The aspiring politician, 29, appeared on the 2020 edition of the dating show but was only in the villa for three days before he realised he still had feelings for another girl
Explaining his reasons for leaving, Ollie, who was coupled up with eventual winner Paige Turley at the time, said: ‘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.’
Since his appearance on the show, Ollie has come under fire for posting pictures of hunting and culling trips, often showing him posing next to dead animals.
Shortly before the engagement news, the reality star shared a bloody image to Instagram with a dead deer.
Following his post, animal rights group PETA slammed the ‘cold-hearted’ viscount-in-waiting, in a statement shared with MailOnline.
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 2023, Ollie got engaged to the woman he left Love Island for, Cornish aristocrat Laura Nofer (pictured)
He had been dating her for 18 months before doing the show and after exiting the villa, Ollie quickly took his relationship with Laura to the next level
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 Dartmoor.
While he often mentions his days out hunting on Instagram posts, the former islander last posted a picture of a dead animal back in October in an upload which saw his dog carrying a pheasant.
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.
Since his appearance on the show, Ollie has come under fire for posting pictures of hunting and culling trips, often showing him posing next to dead animals
MailOnline contacted Ollie’s representatives for comment at the time.
Earlier that year, the aristocrat caused outrage after images of him posing next to slaughtered animals in Africa emerged, 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.
Shortly before the engagement news, the reality star shared a bloody image to Instagram with dead deer
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.
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.
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Former Love Island star Ollie Williams reveals he is engaged to the woman he left the show for – after causing controversy with his deer shooting
‘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.’
Love IslandReform UKNigel Farage
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