When it was revealed that Whitney Adebayo had signed up for Love Island All Stars,it was welcome news to excited fans of the ITV show. However, her return to the world of Love Island has left some reminiscing back to her first villa stint – which saw her finish in fourth place with Lochan Nowacki in 2023.
The pair quickly fell in love and finished as runners up on the show, which was one of the reasons why fans were left shocked when the pair announced last spring that they were calling it quits on their relationship after two years together. What followed was far from amicable.
So, what happened between Whitney and Lochan? Here’s their relationship breakout (and legal battle) explained.
What happened between Whitney and Lochan?
In April 2025, Whitney and Lochan announced that they were splitting after two years together. Whitney later went on to hint that Lochan had been the one to end their relationship, and that he had ‘fallen out of love with her.’
However, things took a turn for the worse three months after their split. Whitney shared a TikTok of herself, saying she had ‘fallen in love with the skin he used to call dirty’ – leading fans to speculate that Lochan had made racist comments toward Whitney.
Lochan denied this, saying in a TikTok video, ‘I’ve never called anyone’s skin dirty and I would never.’
He then shared his version of events, saying, ‘About a year into my relationship with Whit, we were on a walk close to my flat. She got her nails done, and she annoyingly put her nails in my face and was like, “Oh, my hands are so clean. Yours aren’t.” And I was like, “No, they’re not.” I was kind of just annoyed that her hands were in my face. But it was a very off the cuff remark. I just said, “No, they’re not,” and she looked at me in shock and was like, ‘You’re calling me dirty?'”
He added: ‘I was taken back by that. I felt insulted that my girlfriend, who I loved, who knows me, who knows that I would never insinuate something like that is, you know, calling me a racist and saying, ‘You’re calling my skin dirty’.”
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Whitney then responded with her own video, saying, ‘We were walking from lunch, going back to his place, and I was in the sun, and I was like, “Babe, look how my skin glistens in the sun.’ And he looked and he and he was like, “Ugh, it’s dirty.” And then only when I lashed out, he was like, “It was a joke, it was a joke.” And he was crying’ she said.
In the same video, Whitney went on to allege that she had also experienced racism from Lochan’s family. ‘When I used to come to your house, what did your mum used say to me? Guys, the lights would go off and she would say, “Oh, where’s Whit gone? Whit, smile,” and that was a running joke in that household,’ she said.
Saying he had also called her ‘too ghetto’ and ‘too loud,’ Whitney continued, ‘I just hate the fact he’s coming on the internet acting so innocent. I’m not even here saying that Lochan is a racist. I’m here saying he made racial slurs.’
By August, both Lochan and Whitney began revealing private texts sent between them. Whitney shared a screenshot dated August 2024, reportedly sent from Lochan to someone named Liz. The text read, ‘I literally don’t know what to do I don’t want to lose her and I’m not a racist she saying stuff like the world is gunna know the real you and it’s breaking me because I know I’m not racist at all!! [sic].’
In September, Lochan released two 10-minute TikTok videos, which included messages allegedly between Whitney and his mum, where Whitney said she had made her feel ‘welcome’ in their family. He also brought up several clips of Whitney calling herself ‘ghetto’ in response to allegations he had told her she was ‘too ghetto.’ Fans have pointed out that language someone uses to describe themselves does not mean other people have permission to use that same language to describe them.
What legal action is Lochan taking against Whitney?
After their fallout hit headlines, reports surfaced that Lochan was taking legal action against his ex. Confirming in a statement, he wrote, ‘A series of posts have been released making defamatory comments about my family, friends and I. I never wanted things to reach this stage, and I did try to take this situation through to resolution. I felt I was left with no other choice but to take this course of action.’
‘Taking this step was not about taking anything from Whitney, it’s about protection, it’s about clearing the serious reputational damage that has been caused to me and my family. For the avoidance of doubt, I categorically deny and refute the information that has been spread about my family and myself online.’
A spokesperson for Whitney said at the time, ‘Whitney has instructed her own legal team and is very confident in her position. If any claim is issued by Mr Nowacki, it will be vigorously defended.’
Since then, updates on their legal case have been scarce – with The Sun reporting last month that the former couple had ended any legal dispute and come to an agreement. A source said, ‘Both of them instructed legal teams and, what came to pass, was that this was going to end up as a very ugly, and very expensive row.’
Naturally, Whitney’s All Stars debut has once again stirred up interest. When asked during an interview about the situation, she said, ‘I’ve never had a court case so this is genuinely news to me. I’ve just been focusing on my business – my hair business, my podcast. No, no court case.’
Charlotte Roberts is a writer at Grazia UK, specialising in SEO. She spends her days covering everything celebrity, culture, and entertainment – from film review roundups to cast explainers.
