Mark Maya words and play the field
MAYA Jama has issued a warning to the latest batch of Love Islanders, telling them: “Don’t fall in love on the first day.”
The presenter – who is rumoured to have reignited her romance with grime star Stormzy after their split in 2019 – said her advice would be to play the field. Maya, 28, said: “When they lock themselves up right away, I’m like, ‘No, you’ve got so much time, know everybody’. “Don’t fall in love on the first day. But if you do, fantastic, you might just end up making it to the end. “Me, personally, I wouldn’t lock down with somebody on the first day. I would keep my options open.”
Maya told how she wants the contestants to see her as a big sister – and admits she relies on her own siblings to keep her up-to-date with the lingo used by the islanders.
She said: “I think I’m quite down with the kids. Most of the time I understand. My little brothers say the same things, so they’re in my ears. Most of it is Twitter lingo and Tiktok words.”
Maya proved a runaway success with fans when she replaced Laura Whitmore for last year’s Winter Love Island in South Africa.
She is enjoying being back on set for this year’s second season without the new-girl nerves.
And the host, who was dubbed “Mystic Maya” after introducing an astrology segment into spin-off show Aftersun, revealed she has a secret weapon – crystals she keeps by the side of her bed to help her maintain good energy.
“I don’t actually know what each means but I know they are supposed to be good energy, and like, clearing of bad… whatever it is,” she said.
“Will you see the return of Mystic Maya? I don’t know. We tried it, didn’t we? The thing is, I love star signs, but not everyone else does.
“It’s my own personal fun thing. After the first day, I’m going to try to guess all their star signs and see if it works. I can normally tell… ish.”
Love Island series 10 starts on Virgin Media tomorrow at 9pm.