Liam Reardon has revealed why he is yet to publicly confirm whether he's rekindled his romance with his ex Millie Court.

The Love Island star, 23, has been dogged by speculation that he is back together with the Essex beauty, 26, after they split in July 2022.

And in a new interview, Liam admitted that he and Millie split after facing intense scrutiny about the state of their relationship, hinting that since getting back together they're 'keeping it quiet.'

He told The Sun: 'One of the reasons we went our separate ways was because our relationship was so public and so many people felt like they were involved, just sticking their noses in.

'Some people say, 'Oh just get on with it,' but when you feel like you have to prove to people that you're happy, then it kind of makes you unhappy. So yeah, I just found that very difficult.'

But realising his slip-up, Liam then added: 'Not saying we're back together... but if we were back together, that's why we're keeping it quiet.

'But look, people know and people will believe what they want to believe and that's fine. We're just taking things slowly.'

Liam and Millie's year-long relationship ended in July 2022 after they struggled to cope with the pressures of winning the ITV2 show and Liam has faced continued negativity from fans who believe he mistreated Millie, even cheating on her.

But the former bricklayer insisted that he has never betrayed Millie, 26, or any of his former girlfriends, telling MailOnline, 'I have never cheated.'

The Welshman said viewers misjudge him after he kissed Casa Amor bombshell Lillie Haynes during his series of Love Island and despite apologising for his wrongdoing, his romance with Millie was still tarnished by the slip-up.

Liam said: 'There are a lot of rumours going around about me and Millie being back together… we are very good friends, we are very close friends… and we have been that way since the day we met.

'People can make their own assumptions and that's up to them, but I will leave you with the fact that we're really good friends. We are friends for now… we are just very good friends.

'If we were ever to get back together in the future, then yes potentially we will share it with our fans, we will have to see.'

He played away during Love Island's Casa Amor loyalty test, sharing a bed and passionate kiss with Lillie despite being coupled up with Millie.

But the ASOS ambassador forgave Liam, and they went onto win the £50,000 cash prize, later moving in together as they explored their relationship outside of the villa.

The pair found criticism around their romance difficult to handle and Liam admits he feels there's little he can do to convince their large social media following that he's a loyal boyfriend.

He said: 'Myself and Millie faced a lot of criticism, especially myself, when we broke up certain things came out about me cheating, which was obviously not true. I have never cheated. 

'If people have something in their heads… you can't try and tell them otherwise, you just have to leave them to think what they think.

'I was 21 going into the show, 22 leaving and I had a girlfriend who I didn't know eight weeks before and I had this whole new life and people calling me all sorts of things and talking about my mistakes. I thought "Christ, it's a lot to take on."

'I am not saying what I did was right. I owned up to it and said I regretted it and luckily Millie took me back and we went on to enjoy ourselves and become a proper couple.' 

He also says keeping his rekindled relationship with Millie a secret has been impossible for the couple, who were spotted by fans spending the Easter Bank Holiday together and later kissing at the airport after flying home from Ibiza.

Liam said: 'Obviously, dating is quite difficult… leaving the show there are so many eyes on you and whatever I do someone will see me. 

'Dating in the public, in restaurants, or walking in the park is not easy because people know you and take photos. If you want to keep things private it is quite difficult.'

And it was winning the show that made their relationship particularly tricky to navigate as the varying opinions from fans became difficult for the pair to ignore.

Liam continued: 'Winning definitely added pressure to us as a couple.

'I had so many people saying to me "Toby and Chloe should have won, they were better suited to each other", which I take no offence to but when you win, people think you should be together forever and a perfect couple.

'People made out that we shouldn't even argue but we're just a normal couple and every couple argues and certain stuff like if we didn't post a photo together for three days… people would assume we have broken up, it is frustrating that people have this expectation of you when at the end of the day you're just a normal guy and girl dating.'