A powerful message from Women's Aid.

Since the 2019 series of Love Island kicked off on June 3, viewers have noted the manipulative behaviour of contestant Joe Garratt. He has become increasingly possessive of Lucie Donlan and that came to a head in last night's episode of the show when he criticised her friendship with Tommy Fury. He said that he found it strange that Lucie is friends with him and encouraged her to hang around with the girls more instead of accepting that she's permitted to speak to whomever she likes. He also went as far to say that he was "not happy" with Lucie spending time with Tommy, saying that they had chatted for over an hour.

Really want everyone else in the villa to see the controlling and manipulative behaviour from Joe that the public see. Feeling so sorry for Lucie right now, he is showing a lot of red flags ? #LoveIsland

— Samira (@samira_jj22) June 17, 2019

Unsurprisingly, this greatly upset Lucie who began crying and took some time out on the terrace alone. Viewers watched Joe speak to a couple of their fellow housemates saying that he hoped Lucie would speak with other people instead of Tommy as a result of their chat. Fans of the show have described his behaviour as manipulative and last night's scenes prompted domestic abuse charity Women's Aid to release a statement on the matter. Adina Claire, Co-Chief Executive of Women’s Aid, said:

"Controlling behaviour is never acceptable, and with Love Island viewers complaining to Ofcom in record numbers about Joe’s possessive behaviour towards Lucie, more people are becoming aware of this and want to challenge it. "Abusive relationships often start off with subtle signs of control, so it’s important that it is recognised at an early stage. Love Island viewers are now very vocal in calling out unhealthy behaviour between couples on the show, and this is a positive development".

Joe is really controlling and manipulative to Lucie I feel so bad for her and I hope producer's see how he is coming across. LUCIE GET OUT OF THAT RELATIONSHIP @LoveIsland

— AmyM (@AmyMurp9094) June 17, 2019

When Tommy entered the villa a few days into the show, he picked Lucie to go on a date and when this happened, Joe took his frustrations out on Lucie, giving her the cold shoulder. At this point, Lucie and Joe had known each other for three days and yet Joe took it upon himself to question her loyalty, immediately sending off alarm bells with our own Jade Hayden writing a comment piece on the subject. Things have gone from bad to worse in recent days and we hope that Lucy is being looked after by the show’s producers as it's clear she has been under severe emotional strain. Women's Aid's full list of dating abuse signs can be found here.  If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article you can contact Women's Aid on freephone 24 hours a day on 1800 341 900.