Love Island’s Maura Higgins has previously dated some fellow celebrities, like Strictly Come Dancing’s Giovanni Pernice, and there’s currently rumours of a romance with Pete Wicks
There’s been yet more speculation over Maura Higgins’ personal life this week following her appearance at the annual Pride of Britain Awards on Monday.
The reality TV star, 33, was among the guests at the annual awards ceremony, which was held at Grosvenor House in London. She graced the red carpet at the venue and was also spotted at an afterparty following the event.
She was spotted sharing a kiss with Pete Wicks, 36, at the afterparty, fueling ongoing rumours over the nature of their relationship – though neither of them have confirmed a romance. It’s also been reported that Maura was seen “flirting” with Strictly Come Dancing star Kai Widdrington, 29.
Amid speculation over her personal life, we’ve taken a look back at her dating history and the rumours of a possible romance with her pal Pete. He’s the latest celebrity to be romantically linked to the fellow reality TV star and presenter.
Curtis Pritchard
Maura’s was once in a relationship with Curtis Pritchard, now 28, whom she had met on Love Island in 2019. They reached the final together, where they placed fourth, and then continued a romance once they had left the villa.
It was however announced in March 2020 that they had parted ways, with Maura saying: “[There’s] no bad feeling on either side. We tried to make it work but it wasn’t to be and I wish Curtis nothing but the best for the future.”
Curtis reportedly blamed work schedules for them drifting apart when discussing the relationship shortly afterwards. And he said he was “hurt” when she announced that they had split up as he “wasn’t ready for everyone to know”.
Amid speculation of infidelity, Curtis denied that he had cheated on Maura. Similarly, in light of rumours that she had grown close to her Dancing on Ice partner Alexander Demetriou, Maura assured that they were just friends.
Chris Taylor
Following her relationship with Curtis, the former islander developed a romance with pal Chris Taylor, now 34. The pair, who had met in the Love Island villa, confirmed the relationship in November 2020. They are thought to have been together for around six months before announcing in May the following year that they had split up.
Maura wrote in her statement: “It breaks my heart to even type this, but I wanted to let everyone know that myself and Chris have made the joint decision to end our relationship. There is no wrongdoing on either side. We still love, care & respect each other deeply. […] We wanted to make this work but we have realised we work better being friends.”
Whilst her ex Chris said: “After some very heart felt conversations over the past few days, myself & Maura are very sad to announce that we have decided to part ways. We are both still on very good terms and this was a mutual decision where nobody had done anything wrong. We will remain friends [and] I will always be in Maura’s corner and have her back.”
Ahead of his stint on Love Island: All Stars earlier this year, Chris suggested that he hadn’t spoken to Maura since the break-up. He later spoke about the relationship on the latest series Celebs Go Dating, saying that he had “loved” Maura.
Giovanni Pernice
Maura later dated Strictly star Giovanni Pernice, now 34. Following rumours of a romance between them the previous month, the pair went ‘Instagram official’ in July 2021 and were together for a few months.
However, it was reported in October that year that the reality TV star and the professional dancer had ended their romance. She was said to be “absolutely devastated” and the break-up was attributed to his work commitments.
Speculation that Giovanni was using a dating app whilst in the relationship was denied at the time. He also told fans in a post after the break-up: “Great relationships with great people can come to a natural end. This has been the case for me recently. There was absolutely no wrong-doing.”
Bobby Holland Hanton
More recently, Maura had a relationship with stunt performer Bobby Holland Hanton, now 39, whose career has included being a stunt double for Chris Hemsworth. They were first romantically linked in May last year and just months later Maura was believed to have confirmed the relationship.
She later spoke about the romance whilst on the Late Late Show in her native Ireland in December. Maura said: “I am no more single. Very happy relationship.” Earlier this year though, it was announced that she had split up from Bobby.
Pete Wicks romance rumours
There’s been speculation in recent months of a potential romance between Maura and former the Only Way is Essex cast member Pete. Rumours began circulating when they were spotted having a “passionate” kiss in August.
Maura then risked fueling the speculation just days later when she left a ‘cheeky’ reply to the news that he had signed up for Strictly. She appeared to poke fun at the rumours, teasing: “I know what those hips can do. Proud of you.”
More recently, she again seemed to reference the speculation when she was gifted a t-shirt, which had “we can’t be friends” written above a picture of her kissing Pete on the front, from his pal Sam Thompson. Maura was seen wearing the top in a photo later shared amid the pal’s Staying Relevant podcast tour.
It was exclusively revealed by the Mirror this week that Maura and Pete shared a kiss an afterparty for the Pride of Britain Awards. They are said to have made it clear to onlookers at the venue’s Red Bar that they were an item.
However, Maura nor Pete have ever confirmed a romance between them. And it’s since been revealed that Pete was heard telling fellow guests that he’s very much single just hours before they kissed. Pete was overheard declaring: “I’m single.”
Speaking exclusively to us, one attendee revealed how they overheard Pete chatting about his single life at the afterparty. The guest said: “Pete did look cosy with Maura at points but he wasn’t shy about telling people he was single. He was proudly declaring himself single on the red carpet during interviews and even made a joke of not being in a relationship in the bar after the awards.”
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