LOVE Island star Harrison has hit out over the Women’s Aid ‘misogyny’ backlash, and revealed why he wishes he had waited to have sex with Lauren.
Harrison on Friday in shock scenes
It followed, which drew criticism from charity .
He even pleaded with Toni to pick him in a recoupling hours after having sex with Lauren.
When Toni did choose him, Lauren was left in floods of tears and felt humiliated, and they ended up getting back together.
But Harrison has defended himself again the Women’s Aid backlash, saying: “I have seen the backlash and it’s hard to digest. I would disagree with a lot of it in terms of my respect for women, I do respect women.
“The worst has been from Women’s Aid. I know myself and the girls on the show too, Toni said she knows I’m not a bad person, just went about situations in the wrong way, but the Women’s Aid statement wasn’t nice... it’s not nice coming out of the villa to my mum upset by that so I would say that’s been the hardest.”
The soccer player continued to tell MailOnline that he is ‘obviously sorry’ to any women he hurt on the show.
Adding: “’I got it wrong and the back and forth between the two connections caused more harm than I ever intended.
“It wasn’t ever an ego thing. I am not proud of how I handled things and I’m not going to make excuses.
“I just want to own it. If people can give me the space to grow from it, I will do everything I can to be better and that’s the only thing I can do.
“There is no handbook for how to be on a show like Love Island. It’s instincts and intentions. I got some of it right, but I know I got a lot of it wrong, and I know that now.”
Harison, who was raised by a single mum, shared his dismay over the Women’s Aid statement, given his close bond with his mum and younger sister.
He said: “Growing up, my mum was a single parent, so it was just us but then my stepdad came on the scene and now I have a younger sister.
“I would do anything for my sister and we’re a really close family. That’s why I am so disappointed by the way I handled myself in the villa because I pride myself on standing up for women and being a protector and honestly, my mum and my sister mean everything to me, I am hurt by how I acted based off those things.
“I only speak to my biological dad via text... I don’t have a strong relationship with him in terms of seeing each other but we do speak.
“Naturally, I am a lot closer with my mum because she raised me, and we lived together but my dad is still on the scene it’s just pretty rare for us to see each other.”
And he opened up on why he wished he’d waited to have sex with Lauren, after they did so a couple of times on the show.
“’I wasn’t expecting it to make the show and it be a massive talking point. I have no problem with having sex on TV but at the same time I wish I would have waited,” he said.
Adding: “It’s not been ideal for my parents and family to see. We have tried to skip past the subject but it’s the elephant in the room. It’s unfortunate they saw it on their screens.
“We know that cameras are on us 24/7 and we always knew there was a possibility of the sex being shown but there was no conversation from the producers prior.
“Me and Lauren were very PDA, on top of each other, in the best way possible, we wanted to be around each all the time, and it wasn’t just a physical attraction.
“In bed, one thing led to the next, and in the moment, I didn’t regret it, even now because it was very natural, but I regret the day after where I expressed feelings for Toni.
“I should have waited until I had clarity on the situation. We shouldn’t have... but that’s nothing against Lauren, I just still had feelings for Toni in the back of my mind, so I should have waited.”
Toni begged him to stop messing with her feelings by continuing to flirt with Lauren during his time on the show.
Speaking last night on Aftersun, Harrison said he felt the point that his romancing of both girls went too far was after he’d slept with Lauren.
“I think maybe when we did bits,” he said. “Probably took it a little bit too far talking to Toni after that.
“I obviously regret that massively and I apologise to both the girls but, yeah, it wasn’t good for me.”
He then said if he had his time again he would have had up front conversations with Toni and Lauren earlier to save them getting upset.
It followeda at the weekend, in which he said: “Back on home turf and carrying every lesson with me. What a whirlwind, confusing, raw, beautiful in parts, and deeply humbling. I entered with the intention not to hurt anyone.
“Truthfully, although I didn’t manage that, I leave with a heart more open, and a soul willing to learn. Life isn’t always easy, it’s felt, it’s flawed, it’s full of growth. Thank you to those who saw the good in me even when I struggled to see it myself. This is just the beginning,”
But viewers weren’t buying his latest apology, with one writing on X: “Harrison has CLEARLY wrote a speech and memorised it this is not genuine.”
Another said: “Harrison has gotten away with what he’s done way too easily.”
A third posted: “Harrison’s not sorry for sh*t.”
A fourth said: “Is anyone buying this with Harrison?”
“Im glad no one clapped at Harrison’s poor excuse of an apology.”
