Love Island winner Jack Fincham’s agony after turning his back on drug dealer father jailed for running nationwide cocaine empire
LOVE Island winner Jack Fincham’s estranged dad is a convicted drug dealer.
Jack, 26, turned his back on Mark Gard, 52, who was jailed over a cocaine peddling network.
Jack still nurses real heartache over his drug dealer dad, pals revealed.
The popular reality star cut ties with Mark Gard over a gangster lifestyle that saw him caged for running a nationwide cocaine empire.
A friend said: “People who know Mark know he’s a bit of a wrong ’un, but for Jack the whole thing has been hugely upsetting.
“He told his family he wanted nothing to do with his father.
“The four-year prison sentence, when Jack was still in his teens, was very much the last straw.
“He says that winning Love Island doesn’t erase the hurt.”
Pen salesman Jack hid his troubled family past as he and girlfriend Dani Dyer, 22, scooped the £50,000 first prize on the ITV dating show.
Since their win, Jack has been bonding with Dani’s EastEnders star dad Danny Dyer, 41.
Jack visited the Dyers at their Essex home last week, and friends say he hopes Danny will “guide” the triumphant couple.
The friend said: “Jack doesn’t really have a relationship with his dad any more.
“That’s why he respects Dani’s relationship with her dad so much, and why his own relationship with Danny is becoming so important.”
Gard and Jack’s mum Samantha, 51, split in the early 2000s.
And Jack had already taken his mum’s surname by the time Gard’s criminal activities caught up with him.
Gard was caught sub-letting a council home in Greenwich, South East London, in 2009 despite owning a property empire in Spain.
Fraud investigators tipped off police about his mysterious wealth, triggering an undercover surveillance operation.
Detectives found out that he had used a legitimate parcel-delivery franchise as a front to distribute Class A drugs including cocaine across the country.
A swoop on his home led to the discovery of £100,000 stashed inside a suitcase as well as electronic scales and resealable plastic bags.
Further searches found 4lbs of cocaine and 0.5lb of cannabis resin with a total street value of around £25,000 in a courier van parked outside.
Gard pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply drugs, and benefit fraud, at Woolwich crown court in December 2009.
He was ordered to pay £274,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act, or face a further five years in prison.
Gard was able to pay the fine and avoid the stiffer sentence. He is thought to have left prison in 2012 or 2013.
Friends say the verdict was a devastating blow for Jack.
He was just 17 at the time and already “at the end of his tether” with his dad, say friends. Dental nurse Samantha had split from Gard by then, but Jack still hoped his dad would play a major role in his life.
The prison term dashed those hopes and contact between them petered out.
The friend explained: “Jack was brought up by Samantha, and she did a brilliant job.
“They have a great relationship and she kept him on the right track as he grew up.
“That’s why he has ended up so grounded and with a decent set of morals. Things could have turned out a lot worse.”
In 2006, Samantha married company director Fraser McManus.
He has played a key role in Jack’s life and Samantha refers to him as her son’s “dad”.
Jack has proudly posted Instagram photos of his mum and Fraser on holiday.
The family lives in Swanley, Kent, five miles from where Gard now lives in a £650,000 four-bed home in Chislehurst.
It is not known how he now makes a living. The friend added: “Jack may have had some contact with his dad but he’s kept it private.
“Although Jack has a strong family unit around him, he’s really missed that relationship with his own flesh and blood, and that’s why the relationship with Danny Dyer is so important to him.
“Of course Gard knows all about his son being on Love Island — mainly because he has younger kids from a subsequent relationship who are all fans of the show.” Nearly four million viewers watched Jack and Dani couple up in an early episode and stay faithful throughout the series set on Majorca.
And they resisted the temptation for an on-screen romp — despite the bed-hopping antics of other contestants.
During the show, Danny publicly warned Jack not to join the “Do Bits Society” with his daughter.
The term was coined by contestant Wes Nelson to refer to islanders who had taken things to the next level in the bedroom. Jack and Dani are now set to make millions from their fame.
But behind the scenes tongues were already wagging when Gard was not among family members who showed up for the show’s “meet-the-in laws” segment.
Instead Jack’s brother Oliver, 22, joined Samantha for a tearful reunion on the couch where they were introduced to Dani.
On seeing them, Jack gushed: “I’m overwhelmed — I missed them so much.” Samantha rejoiced: “We are so proud of you.” Amid the hugs, there was no mention of absent Gard.
Since flying back from Majorca, Jack has been busy bonding with Danny, who plays Queen Vic landlord Mick Carter.
Pictures emerged of Jack, Dani and Danny popping out for a takeaway in Buckhurst Hill, Essex.
And on Saturday The Sun told how Danny prank-called Dani live on radio and asked if she’d “done bits” with Jack.
He praised her for a “right good” answer after she responded that “a lady never tells”.
Jack may have had some contact with his dad but he’s kept it private
Pal
Jack is said to be keen to get advice from Danny on how to launch a successful showbiz career.
In a TV interview last week, Jack said: “I think he (Danny) means he will just sort of guide me in what life will be like now... I hope!”
Our source said: “Jack is getting matey with Danny, for sure — but there doesn’t appear to be a happy ending in his relationship with his real dad.
“The win has made Jack more determined than ever to move on with his life. He has been in touch with relatives to specifically say nothing has changed.
“Hopefully his dad has seen his win, and knows what he’s missing out on.”
MOST READ IN LOVE ISLAND
Samantha told The Sun on Sunday: “We don’t have any contact.
“He’s not Jack’s dad, he’s got his dad here” — meaning his stepfather Fraser McManus.
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