Maya Jama has opened up about what she would alter from the 13th series of Love Island, sharing her brutally honest thoughts on the show's production pace. The beloved presenter returned to host the live finale, where Lorenz Alessi and Julia Majchrzak were crowned winners and split the £50,000 prize.
Maya's Verdict on the Finale and Bombardments
Appearing as a guest on the final episode of Love Island The Debrief, Maya discussed her reflections on the series. When asked about the finale, she said: "The finalists always make sense to me, so happy with the outcome." However, she admitted she wished certain dumped Islanders had more time in the villa. "Yeah, I wanted Mara to stay longer. Definitely, I feel like she had such an impact. Even Ethan could have been brought on —" She stopped herself, adding: "I don't know how much I'm allowed to say actually, low key, but you can cut it out — I feel like Ethan maybe should have been brought in a little bit sooner."
Changes to Challenges and Podcast Timing
Maya also suggested that the podcast challenge, which aired late in the series, would have been more effective earlier. "Even the podcast situation we did would have been beneficial, like, earlier — because near the end well Tommy and Yas, it f***** them a little bit, didn't it?" She noted that an earlier timing could have altered the "route of the series," but praised the producers: "The higherups know what they're doing."
How The Traitors Changed Her Perspective
Maya credited her upcoming role in the second season of BBC's Celebrity Traitors for deepening her empathy for the Islanders. "I see you [the Islanders] once every two weeks or something and actually it's really hard and your emotions are being played with and then you're having bombshells and cameras are rolling 24/7," she explained. "The closest I ever got to it was I did The Traitors and I was like 'Oh my days', I relate to them on a whole other level and I wasn't even playing with love at that point. So, the public know who they love and they voted right and I'm happy."
Love Island The Debrief is available to stream on ITVX and YouTube.
