On Thursday last week, it was confirmed that Love Island 2026 Islander George Knight had quit the villa. However, he was still on the show until Sunday night’s episode – when the Islanders announced he had left.

Last week, it was confirmed he had left the show for “private reasons”. It wasn’t until four days later, on Sunday, that we saw the Islanders had been told exactly the same thing.

People on Twitter have been expressing their confusion as to why George remained on the show for so long, after we found out he had left. “George’s exit was announced days ago but he’s still in the villa???,” one person questioned. Another asked: “Does George have nine lives? Why is he still here? Thought he was supposed to have left in Friday’s episode but nope.”

Flic Cross, the reporter from The Sun who broke the news about George’s exit, has explained why this happened. She explained in a TikTok that she’s had loads of questions about the timeline of him leaving the villa.

via ITV

“I found out that George had left the villa on Thursday,” she explained. “That doesn’t mean he left the villa on Thursday, it’s when I heard he had.” She then explained however, that she “believes it to be the case” that George left on Thursday. But, that doesn’t align with how we saw things on the show.

“ITV didn’t tell me that he had left the villa, I found out through my sources,” she went on. “Then I spoke to ITV to confirm it. Then [I] worked with them [ITV] around their statement.”

Flic then went on to fully explain the timeline between real life, and what we see on TV. “So, George leaves on Thursday,” she said. “Because of the way the Love Island filming timeline works, sometimes one day can be spread across several episodes. That’s why George was in Friday night’s episode… also Sunday night’s episode.”

She then explained we didn’t see his exit on the show because it took place through a private conversation in the Beach Hut, and then he left. The Islanders were told separately.

Since his departure, George has posted a statement to explain further why he left the villa. He said: “Family comes first, always. Leaving the Love Island villa was a decision made in order to be with my family. Out of respect for them, I’d prefer not to go into any further detail. Thank you to everyone who has reached out with kind messages and support! It genuinely means a lot.”