I’ve no regrets about my Love Island exes – I’m still a hopeless romantic and my soulmate’s out there, says Adam Collard
HE made Love Island history as the first star to return as a bombshell to enter the villa for a second time.
But hunky bad boy Adam Collard, 27, is still single – five years on from his first stint on the hit show.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Adam says he’s yet to meet his soulmate – but has “no regrets” about his Love Island exes Paige Thorne and Zara McDermott.
“I don’t regret anything”, says Adam, who says he’s taking a break from dating after his break-up with Paige.
“I’ve had relationships and some have worked out better than others. I’ve had bad breakups and you learn from it. I’ll still have them again.”
He mysteriously added: “Not everything you have seen is what it seems.”
The 27-year-old made it to the final week of series eight with co-star Paige after entering as a bombshell four years on from being on the show.
He turned the Welsh paramedic’s head while she was coupled up with Jacques O’Neill who later walked out the villa.
Adam made her his girlfriend soon after leaving the show – but split months later.
Paige, 25, blamed a string of videos online showing Adam chatting with his arms around girls at nightclubs.
It was his second relationship to break down after the show, following his split from ex Zara after eight months.
Opening up on his break-up with Paige in detail for the first time, Adam said: “It could have worked, but a seven-hour distance between Newcastle and Swansea definitely puts a lot of pressure on you.
“If you’d asked me when I came off Love Island if I was ready to settle down with Paige, then I would have said yes, but I learnt we’re just different people.
“You don’t really realise in the villa that you can have someone who is perfect for you in that scenario, but then when you come out you can just live different lives.
“That was one of the things that we found out. Distance was one of them, but also personalities too.
“I’m very work-driven. I’m not saying she isn’t at all. We just live completely separate lives.
“She’s a paramedic and I want her to do really really well with that. She will do amazing with that because that’s what she loves, but I just love different things.”
Quizzed on how he feels about how he’s been portrayed on TV, Adam added: “I don’t mind my bad boy reputation. I’m still getting tweeted about after the stuff I did when I was 21 or 22.
It sounds weird but I always said to myself one thing: If you put me in a room with someone for an hour, even if they have that opinion on me, I do think I can change it.
“I love my family, my dogs and home. I’m just a normal kid who was thrown into this position where I had to make important decisions that affected other people.
“At 21, I’m going to mess-up. There’s a reason why people thought I was better behaved in series eight – I wasn’t, I was older and more mature, it’s as easy as that.”
For now, Adam is happy concentrating on his gym businesses and is also in training to do a triathlon after signing up to Ironman to raise money for Marie Curie UK.
“I would love to meet the girl of my dreams, but right now I’m not looking for them,” he adds.
“The Paige thing was such a big thing in my life and in her life that I probably need a little bit out of time out.
“I am really a hopeless romantic at heart. I do actually think there’s a a person for everyone who makes them not look for anyone else and be completely head over heels.
“I still do believe in soulmates. Maybe I’ve watched too many films.”