Who is Maura Higgins and how long has the Love Island contestant been dating Strictly & Towie star Pete Wicks?

MAURA Higgins has made a name for herself as one of Love Island’s most iconic stars. The Irish beauty has now become a successful lingerie model and is dating a Strictly star.

Instagram

Maura Higgins has seen her career skyrocket after appearing on Love Island[/caption]

Rex Features

Who is Maura Higgins?

Maura Higgins is a model and TV presenter from County Longford, Ireland. She studied to become a hairdresser and worked in a salon in Ballymahon. Maura also worked for Monster Energy and at the end of 2017, she travelled to Abu Dhabi for the formula 1 finale. Prior to appearing on Love Island, she worked as a ring girl for professional boxers, including Anthony Joshua.  She also appeared in the video for the hit song Get Low by Liam Payne.

When was Maura Higgins on Love Island?

Maura finished in fourth place on the fifth series of Love Island 2019.

She said before entering the villa: “My worst trait would be that I talk over people… a lot! I even notice myself doing it.”

Maura also said she was looking for an honest and confident guy who can make her laugh, and it appeared Curtis Pritchard did just that in the villa as he impressed her with his latin ballroom moves.

The pair weren’t originally paired up, but sparks flew after Curtis broke up with Amy Hart in the villa.

After finishing fourth place and heading back to England together, these two looked as though their relationship was going from strength to strength. But at the beginning of 2020, the pair decided to split due to Curtis being accused of cheating – something which he strongly denies.

What other TV shows has Maura Higgins been on?

After appearing on Love Island Maura went on to regularly appear on This Morning, presenting an agony aunt segment. In 2020, she appeared on the twelfth series of Dancing On Ice with professional dance partner Alexander Demetriou.  She was eliminated in week seven. Maura has also appeared on celebrity game shows including Celebrity Juice, I’ll Get This and The Wheel. In September 2021, it was announced that she would be presenting the Irish version of Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-Up Star. Since 2022, Maura has been part of the Love Island USA presenting team.

Rex

Who has Maura Higgins dated?

Following her split from Curtis, Maura confirmed that she was dating fellow islander Chris Taylor in November 2020. However, just a few months later they announced they had split. Things got pretty serious between Maura and Strictly Come Dancing’s heartthrob Giovanni Pernice a year later with reports of them planning on moving in together.

Instagram

Maura and Giovanni Pernice were once loved up[/caption] But sadly, news broke that they’d split in October of the same year. In 2022, Maura was seen kissing Towie and Love Island star Joey Essex at the Pride of Britain Awards. The snaps of their intimate moment instantly made waves online, but Maura has casually dismissed the relationship rumours and wrote: “It’s how I greet people”. After this, the Tv star was in a year long relationship with stuntman Bobby Holland Hanton, but the couple split in March 2024. In August 2024, Maura was spotted getting cosy with Pete Wicks leading to speculation they are dating. The pair were spotted kissing passionately at a hotel in Soho.