Joey Essex insists his Love Island romance with Jessy Potts is actual

Joey Essex has insisted that his Love Island romance with Jessy Potts is the ‘real deal’despite being voted the ‘least compatible’ couple. 

The reality star, 34, caused a stir when he entered the villa as the first celebrity contestant.

And despite being labelled as the ‘pantomime villain’ the TV personality, well known for his bachelor antics, now claims to have settled down with his ‘exclusive girlfriend’ Jessy, 25.

In an interview with OK! Magazine, Joey claims the pair have already started thinking about their future despite not the ‘L’ word to each other yet.

He told the publication: ‘We’ve already spoken about kids.’

Joey Essex, 34, has insisted that his Love Island romance with Jessy Potts,25, is the ‘real deal’ after exiting the villa and revealed he wants to have eight children with his new flame

Despite being labelled as the ‘pantomime villain’ the TV personality, well known for his bachelor antics, now claims to have settled down with his ‘exclusive girlfriend’ Jessy 

‘We both want a big family. But we’re having a bit of a tiff at the moment. She wants four, I want eight.

‘Imagine how great that would be? I’m ready. I’d do it tomorrow. Maybe even tonight!’.

But while the couple are ready to start a family of their own, others are less convinced especially after the couple were booted off the Island after being voted the ‘least compatible’ couple by their fellow islanders.

Joey was slammed by viewers and accused of playing games during his stint on the reality show.

The TV personality defended his actions by claiming contestants were ‘encouraged’ to stir the pot during an appearance on Thursday’s edition of This Morning.

He said: ‘Everyone is encouraged to pot stir, the difference with me is that I don’t hesitate… I know what the producers want!

‘Some didn’t want to go out there and upset people and I respect that, but the difference with me and 13 years experience, I know what to do and that’s what I did.’

Admitting he played the ‘pantomime villain’, Joey added: ‘I have no regrets, you know what it’s like, and I played the pantomime villain. I did what I had to do, I wanted to have fun and find love and I found Jessy.’

Making their romance Instagram official, they shared a joint post and wrote: ‘exclusive era’

In an interview with OK! Magazine, Joey claims the pair have already started thinking about their future despite not the ‘L’ word to each other yet and are ignoring criticism

The couple were sent packing just one day before the series final after being voted the ‘least compatible’ couple by their fellow islands

After being asked if they’ve said the ‘love’ word to each other yet. Jessy said, ‘We don’t want to rush things.’   

Despite the criticism, Joey said he wanted people to focus on him and his new flame as a couple and ignore all the noise around them, insisting he was ‘genuine’ during his time in the villa. 

He added neither of them had played any games and neither could see any red flags despite ‘testing each other’.

He said: ‘We took our time, had fun and enjoyed each other’s company. We weren’t jumping to make decisions because the next bombshell was coming in, or because it was Casa Amor, we did things our way. We played it correctly. We weren’t in it to win it. We just wanted to be together.’

Model and influencer Jessy told the magazine the she isn’t  phased by the scepticism around Joey’s actions and is fully supported by her friends and family.

She revealed that her family trust her to see beyond the headlines and chose someone nice adding that they already really like the Essex-born reality star. 

She added that she wasn’t even phased by Joey’s wandering eye and explained that he’s a veteran celebrity and she trusts him completely not to fall victim to other girls’ intentions. 

And the couple put on a loved-up display on Thursday for their first date outside the Love Island villa.

Despite the criticism, Joey said he wanted people to focus on him and Jessy as a couple and ignore all the noise around them, insisting he was ‘genuine’ during his time in the villa 

The media personality cut a casual figure as he sported a white jacket with a matching T-shirt and blue jeans.

Jessy looked radiant for the day in a black short-sleeved midi dress with a plunging neckline that highlighted her incredible figure.

The garment featured a polka dot print while the beauty also wore a pair of white trainers and styled her blonde locks into a ponytail.

The reality star’s revelations about settling down come after he hinted that his time on television might be over. 

He has said that he might take a step back from the limelight now that he’s done every reality show out there. 

He said: ‘I’m taking a huge break from reality TV, I have done every show possible.’

He added: ‘I wouldn’t want to do Strictly. It wasn’t hard to see the headlines, not everyone is going to love you all the time. I am strong-minded and very resilient.”