A former Love Island star who is dramatically suing his ex has insisted he had ‘no choice’ after she accused him of making a racial slur.
Lochan Nowacki, 27, is taking his former partner, Whitney Adebayo, to court after she publicly alleged he called her skin ‘dirty’ during their relationship.
Dubbed ‘Love Island’s Wagatha Christie’, the contentious legal battle between the pair is said to be due to begin in the coming weeks.
Adebayo’s video, in which she made the allegation, has since been more more than 3.5million times.
Now, breaking his silence on the blockbuster court row, Nowacki said: ‘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.
Lochan Nowacki, 27, is planning to sue his former partner, Whitney Adebayo (both pictured), after she publicly alleged he called her skin ‘dirty’ during their relationship
In a social media video shared to TikTok in July, Abedayo uploaded an image of her in a bright pink bikini, with text that read: ‘You look happier’. Then in another image of her, she added: ‘Thanks! I finally fell in love with my skin he used to call dirty’
Nowacki has since broken his silence on the legal row, posting a statement on his Instagram
‘For the avoidance of doubt, I categorically deny and refute the information that has been spread about my family and myself online.
‘I have no desire to prolong this situation. More than anything, I want to close this down and for us both to move forward separately.’
The former couple announced in April they had gone their separate ways, with Abedayo, 27, hinting at the time that it was Nowacki’s decision, writing: ‘I’m broken’.
However, it later appeared relations had soured between the pair, who were runners-up in the 2023 series of the ITV2 show, after Adebayo made an allegation of racism against her ex.
In a social media video shared to TikTok in July, Abedayo uploaded an image of her in a bright pink bikini, with text that read: ‘You look happier’. Then, in another image of her, she added: ‘Thanks! I finally fell in love with my skin he used to call dirty.’
In response to the video, later deleted after going viral online, Abedayo took to TikTok to defend himself against the claim, claiming he felt ‘insulted’ by her allegation against him.
Nowacki is set to take legal action against Abedayo, with a source saying the reality star is allegedly suing his former partner in the High Court for defamation and malicious falsehood.
‘Half the people out there still think he’s a racist because of what she’s said about him,’ the insider said.
The former couple (pictured in September 2023) announced in April that they had gone their separate ways, with Abedayo, 27, hinting at the time it was Lochan’s decision by writing ‘I’m broken’
‘It’s just not right and it has to be corrected. He would rather avoid court, but there doesn’t appear to be any alternative.’
They added that Abedayo’s claims that Nowacki’s mother, Kulminder, had also made a racial slur, was the ‘final straw’ for the legal action.
In a video posted to TikTok, Abedayo said that when she visited the house, Kulminder had often joked ‘where’s Whit gone’ when the lights were switched off before remarking ‘Whit, smile’.
Nowacki is reported to have hired legal assistance from Brandsmiths, who famously represented David Walliams when he sued bosses at Britain’s Got Talent in 2023.
A spokeswoman for Abedayo told the publication she was ‘very confident’ in her position, and would ‘vigorously defend’ any claim issued by Nowacki.
Daily Mail has contacted Brandsmiths, alongside representatives for Abedayo, Nowacki and Love Island for comment.
Following the claims made by Abedayo, Norwacki expressed in a TikTok clip he had been left ‘devastated and upset’ by the allegations, adding he had ‘no choice’ but to address the situation.
In response to the video, later deleted after going viral online, Nowacki took to TikTok to defend himself against the claim, remarking that he felt ‘insulted’ by her allegation that he is racist
Nowacki is set to take legal action against Abedayo and is reportedly suing his ex in the High Court for defamation and malicious falsehood
He then went on to give his version of events, claiming the conflict between the pair had initially begun while they were on a walk, with him insisting that Abedayo had put her nails ‘in my face’ while showing off her manicure.
He said: ‘She annoyingly put her nails in my face and said, ‘My hands are so clean, yours aren’t.’ And I said, ‘No they’re not’.’
Norwacki continued: ‘I was just annoyed her hands were in my face – it was a very off the cuff remark. She looked at me in shock and said, ‘You’re calling me dirty.’
‘I was taken aback 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 calling me a racist.
‘I want to first off say I’ve never called someone’s skin dirty, I would never. That to me is the most upsetting comment.’
He went on to add that he was ‘super upset’ at the time and that it was an ’emotional day’ for the pair, before noting that during the confrontation Abedayo had snapped at him: ‘The world is gonna see you for the racist that you are’.
Norwacki also insisted he had contacted Abedayo’s sister Liz in a bid to try and clear up the situation, sharing a screenshot of messages between them in which she insisted that he is not a racist.
However, in a previous post made by Liz, she defended her sister against the bout of public backlash she received following her allegation.
In a previous post made by Abedayo’s sister Liz, she took to social media to post an image that appeared to be a screenshot of a message shared by Nowacki, seemingly admitting the racist claims
A source said: ‘Half the people out there still think he’s a racist because of what she’s said about him. ‘It’s just not right and it has to be corrected. He would rather avoid court, but there doesn’t appear to be any alternative’
Pictured: the couple announced their break up in April. Abedayo later revealed she had experienced microagressions during their relationship, accusing her ex of being a ‘culture vulture’
Posting a screenshot that she claimed proved Abedayo’s racist comment, an alleged message appearing to have come from Norwacki read: ‘Please speak to whit she is fully cone and I feel awful but I never said it thinking her skin is dirty I feel sick I crossed line with joke but she she she can’t look at me the same. I don’t know what to do Liz.’
Over the top of her post, she wrote: ‘The fact that evidence is needed is absurd to me why can’t women speak and be heard? I’m tired of seeing people constantly paint my sister as this person and jumping on the ‘hate Whitney’ bandwagon.
‘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.’
She then concluded: ‘Be kind and give grace.’
Meanwhile, Abedayo later took to social media in retaliation against Norwacki’s denial of the racial slur, sharing a video in which she directly called out her former partner.
Addressing Norwacki directly, she said: ‘Lochan, are we doing this? Are we really going to go down the nice boy puppy dog look? Really?’
Abedayo then continued: ‘Back to the situation of how it happened. We were walking back 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’.
A spokeswoman for Abedayo told the publication that she was ‘very confident’ in her position, and would ‘vigorously defend’ any claim issued by Nowacki
In a social media video posted by Abedayo she directly addressed her former partner, stating: ‘Lochan, are we doing this? Are we really going to go down the nice boy puppy dog look? Really?’
‘And he looked at me and was like ‘urgh, it’s dirty’ and then only when I lashed out, he was like ‘oh, it was a joke, it was a joke’ and he was crying, he called all of my family members saying ‘it was a joke!’
‘Because Lochan gives off this golden retriever energy, no-one would ever believe that he would say it maliciously but you guys know I have dark humour, I know when something’s a joke and when something is said seriously and then span into ‘it’s a joke’.
Abedayo then revealed she had also experienced microagressions during their relationship, accusing her ex of being a ‘culture vulture’.
The term is described by Urban Diction as ‘a person or an organisation making profit using unhonorable practices from a culture they do not care for.’
She added: ‘Lochan is a culture vulture. He clocked that his audience is predominantly black so he’s constantly trying to tap into the culture.
‘But the same culture he stripped me of, the same culture he told me I was too ghetto, too loud, my family can’t come to his sister’s events because we’ll steal the attention.’
At the time, Norwacki’s spokesperson said he was ‘aware of the posts and allegations currently circulating online.’
They added: ‘He strongly denies the claims being made and has shared a post on TikTok clarifying the situation and providing full context.’