Love Island UK Cuts Gabriel Garland Over Stabbing Link
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- Gabriel Garland, a Casa Amor bombshell on Love Island UK Season 13, was pulled from the ITV2 dating series after producers discovered court filings tying him to a stabbing incident.
- ITV confirmed in a statement that "Gabriel has now left the Villa and will not be returning," according to the network's spokesperson.
- The Sun reported that Garland was named in the conviction of Vitor Mazzer, found guilty of two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent in a New Year's Eve 2019 case; court filings note Garland had an altercation with the two victims Mazzer stabbed.
- Garland was not convicted in the case, which may explain why the incident did not surface during ITV's pre-vetting background check.
- Garland will still appear in the Sunday, June 28 Casa Amor bombshell introduction episode before being edited out of the series going forward.
- The Casa Amor twist brings six new boys and six new girls into the villa to test the existing couples' loyalties, with Garland among the eliminated entrants.
- Love Island UK Season 13's Casa Amor episode airs at 9 p.m. BST on ITV2 (and streams on ITVX), with U.S. viewers able to stream on Hulu starting Tuesday, June 30.
Why it matters: ITV's background check failed to flag Garland because he was never convicted, only named in someone else's stabbing case — exposing a vetting gap that forced mid-production removal during a major ratings event (Casa Amor). The network now faces the editing cost of excising him from future episodes and a credibility question about contestant screening on a flagship reality franchise.
