Many men would love nothing more than dating world-famous beauty Maura Higgins, but she has confessed that some exes did not enjoy being overshadowed by her. The Love Island star, 35, has seen her profile skyrocket since leaving the ITV villa in 2019 and has now well and truly cracked America, with appearances on Celebrity Traitors and the upcoming series of Dancing With The Stars.
Earlier this year, Maura, whose last known relationship was with Pete Wicks, revealed she has been celibate after a string of bad romances. She has also dated Strictly Come Dancing's Giovanni Pernice, Joey Essex, Hollywood stuntman Bobby Holland Hanton, and fellow Islander Curtis Pritchard.
Opening up about what she is now looking for in a man, Maura said friends have advised her to find someone who is happy for her to take the lead. 'Some of my ex-partners didn't like me overshadowing them; it was probably an ego thing,' she told The Sun. 'My friends keep saying that my next partner needs to let me shine and be who I am.'
Maura previously revealed she goes through a man's phone just a week into dating him because she has 'serious trust issues'. She said she has turned into an 'investigator' when it comes to dating men after years of being treated poorly. Last year, Maura took a public swipe at her ex-boyfriend Pete and suggested he cheated on her after she discovered texts to other women on his phone. Insiders told Daily Mail at the time that Pete was never unfaithful to Maura and was hurt by the accusations.
In an interview with Glamour Magazine, Maura detailed her red, green, and beige flags and said: 'I'd say my biggest red flag in a relationship is I've got serious trust issues. If I'm dating you and it's only a week in, I've already gone through your phone. I've turned into a bit of an investigator because men have done me dirty. So, like, I mean, I'd probably say it's a beige flag, but we call it red. We call it red because it's not okay to go through someone's phone, but I'm going to do it again.'
TV star Maura has regularly dated in the public eye. She fell for Curtis Pritchard on Love Island before dating Chris Taylor, whom she met on the same series. Following their split, Maura was in a relationship with axed Strictly professional Giovanni Pernice, but they parted ways after four months. After being spotted sharing a kiss at the National TV Awards in 2022, Maura and TOWIE's Joey Essex denied that they were romantically involved. In March 2024, Maura split from stuntman Bobby Holland Hanton after ten months together. Maura was then seen sharing a 'drunken kiss' with McFly's Danny Jones, who has been married to his wife Georgia for over a decade, as they attended Universal Music's BRIT Awards afterparty.
Most recently, Maura sparked romance rumours with her Traitors US co-star Rob, 27. Fans have picked up on apparent chemistry between Maura and fellow player Rob, hoping they get together. While appearing on Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live, the Irish star broke her silence on this speculation as she was quizzed about their relationship. Andy asked her: 'The internet wants you and Rob to get together, and?' To which Maura responded: 'I saw, there's a lot of videos on TikTok at the moment.' Continuing, Andy followed up with: 'And what do you think?' Maura coyly replied: 'I mean, you'll have to watch the show to see if that happened.' The pair knew each other through Love Island US, where Rob appeared as a contestant in 2023 and 2024.
