Love Island’s Chris Hughes denies his romance with Olivia Attwood was fake

LOVE Island star Chris Hughes has denied persistent rumours that his relationship with ex-girlfriend Olivia Atwood was fake.

Fans have long speculated that the former couple were only together for publicity, due to their constant rowing, accusations of cheating and for ending their nine-month relationship just as they finished filming their ITVBe reality show.

Despite admitting he could understand criticism of his "toxic" relationship, Chris told The Sun's Dan Wootton on his talkRADIO show Dan's Dilemmas that it was completely genuine.

He said: "The reality show came five or six months into our relationship, so there was no commercial benefit. I'm not one of those people. I will be in a relationship if I want to be in a relationship.

"No monetary value can make me sway into staying in something I don't want to be in. I was with Olivia purely because I want to be with Olivia.

"We didn't think we were going to split up. We actually looked forward to the show because we thought, 'ok, we'll be spending a lot of time together each day', but obviously during the time of filming it came to an end."

On their dramatic arguments, which caused concern with viewers of their show Crackin' On, he said: "We are two different people if you're talking personalities. I did get on with Olivia, at times.

"It was that intense and toxic, but it was passion and when it's good, you really feel it."

Chris, who has recently been on holiday with Love Island pal Kem Cetinay with First Choice, revealed he has cut all ties with Olivia, 29, by blocking her on social media - and isn't in fear of her threats to expose secrets from their relationship.

She wrote in her magazine column: "He's treading on really thin ice - there’s a lot that went on behind closed doors."

He responded: "It's a free world, she can say what she likes.

"I've blocked her on everything. She physically can't get in touch with me. That's the same with all my exes - I don't need to know what they're doing and they don't need to know what I'm doing."

Chris denied that he had been unfaithful to Olivia, despite The Sun revealing footage of him getting cosy to a mystery girl in a nightclub in November.

He said: "I was very faithful. I'm a faithful guy. It's a different kind of industry now, people come over to you. I was drunk, I'm allowed to hug someone."

Olivia also seemed to hint that he had cheated prior to their March split, claiming he had "messaged a few different women" and had a "history of flirting with other girls".

Chris said: "She didn't [say that] when we were together. She did that after we split up. I understand that emotions change when you split up from a relationship."

Dan's Dilemmas with Dr Linda Papadopoulos airs Sundays from 1pm until 4pm on talkRADIO.