Love Island UK alum Whitney Adebayo has seemingly accused ex-boyfriend Lochan Nowacki of making a racially insensitive comment about her skin tone.
“‘You look happier.’ Thanks! I finally fell in love with my skin he used to call dirty,” Whitney, 27, wrote via TikTok on Friday, August 1, sharing photos of herself on a beach.
While Whitney did not identify her ex by name, she was last in a relationship with Lochan, 25. (Whitney and Lochan met in 2023 during Love Island season 10. They split in April after two years together.)
Lochan has since fervently denied the accusations, stressing in a TikTok video that his remark was never meant to be anything more than a joke. Us Weekly has reached out for further comment.
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Whitney’s sister, Liz Brown, however, appeared to confirm that Lochan did allegedly make the derogatory remark in question.
“The fact that evidence is needed is absurd to me. Why can’t women speak and be heard?” Liz wrote in a since-expired Instagram Story post on Friday, screenshotted and published by account The Shade Borough. “I’m tired of seeing people constantly paint my sister as this person and jumping on the ‘hate Whitney’ bandwagon.”
Liz added, “I know what she went through, and the fact that it took this long for her to heal and share her truth to be shamed is vile. As women, we’ve all stayed in situations that didn’t serve us, but when you get out, that’s when you really start to become a woman. Be kind and give grace.”
Lis also shared a screenshot of an alleged text exchange with Lochan from August 2024, where he seemingly admitted to calling Whitney’s skin “dirty.”
“Please speak to Whit. She is fully done, and I feel awful but I never said it thinking her skin is dirty,” Lochan allegedly wrote to Liz. “I feel sick. I crossed a line with [a] joke, but she said she can’t look at me the same. I don’t know what to do. … I f***ed up.”
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Lochan also appeared to tell Liz that he could “barely” look Whitney or their family in the eyes after allegedly making the joke.
“I crossed a line,” he allegedly stressed to Liz.
Whitney and Lochan finished in second place during their season of Love Island. She confirmed earlier this year that they had broken up.
“Unfortunately, mine and Lochan’s relationship has come to an end,” Whitney wrote via Instagram Stories in April. “Thanks for all the love and support that you’ve shown us through our journey. We’re forever grateful.”
Lochan, meanwhile, noted in his Saturday apology video that he wants Whitney to “be happy” moving forward.
“I just want Whit and I to move on happily with our lives and just be happy,” he said. “I want her to be happy.”
