Love Island’s Maura: “You need to have balls and go for what you want”
She may have been a late arrival, but Irish model Maura Higgins turned out to be one of the most memorable stars of last summer’s series of Love Island. She was famed for her no-nonsense attitude in the villa, first making a very sexually-loaded play for Tommy Fury, then setting her sights on Curtis shortly after he split with Amy. And her advice to this series’ Islanders is to be fearless and prepare to fight for your man. Maura, 29, says, “You do need to be ruthless in the villa. You need to have balls – go in and go for what you want, and don’t back down. That’s what I did. Be yourself – that’s the best thing you can do.”
Since leaving the villa, Maura has contributed to This Morning and launched a fashion collection with online brand Boohoo, and is now starring in Dancing On Ice. However, she hasn’t kept in close touch with many of her fellow former Love Islanders, apart from boyfriend Curtis Pritchard. She says, “I’m not involved in the [ Love Island] WhatsApp group – I don’t even know if it’s still going. I don’t spend a lot of time on my phone.”
NEW FRIENDS
But there is one group chat that she loves replying to – her Dancing On Ice family. She reveals she’s made some “good friends” on the show, including Joe Swash.
“He’s so funny,” she says. “The whole team are just incredible. We’re on a group chat together... Everyone is chatting all the time.”
Since being placed fourth on 2019’s Love Island, the couple are still going strong since making it official in October. The pair enjoy their downtime together when they’re not working or training, and Maura reveals her and Curtis’ ideal date is a relaxing night in. She says, “Things are going really well. Our schedules have been so hectic – we like to have a bubble bath, order a takeaway and chill out. I’m up at 5am every morning for Dancing On Ice training. I turn up without any make-up, eyes half-shut, shattered and my body aching.”
INTENSE
And we can expect some familiar faces in the DOI audience, as Maura is counting on the support from fellow Love Islanders Chris Taylor, Lucie Donlan, Tommy Fury and his girlfriend Molly-Mae Hague. She reveals, “I know Chris is coming to see me – our friendship wasn’t shown on air. Lucie, Molly and Tommy will probably come too, depending on how long I last!” Maura admits her party-girl days are behind her (for now), as she focuses on training, saying, “I’m usually the biggest party animal of all, but
I’m taking my training very seriously. I never thought I’d enjoy ice skating this much!”
By Julie Ann Trainor