It’s been less than a year since Maura Higgins bounced on to our screens, stealing all of our hearts on Love Island with her no fucks given attitude and candid attitude towards sex. Since leavingthe villa{
Now, Maura is turning her hand to designing swimwear for Ann Summers, something which she says she has been working on for months. ‘It’s a pinch me moment,’ she told Grazia at a meet and greet event at their London Brunswick store yesterday. ‘Ann Summers is just the definition of female empowerment. I’ve loved Ann Summers for years, it’s literally a dream.’
‘Underwear just makes me feel very, very sexy,’ she adds. ‘Like, I think every single woman out there loves underwear. We all have underwear underneath our clothes - but you know me, I wear a bra on a night out.’
Maura adds that she loves posting pictures in lingerie on Instagram. And she doesn’t let any trolling - an unfortunate downside for any reality star with a social media account - get her down. ‘I don't mind showing myself in underwear,' she laughs. 'Whatever makes me happy, like it's my Instagram. I get the odd negative message which I just bypass, it just shows more about that person than it does me like if they're taking time out of their day to pull something negative to me.’
The reality star - who worked as a ring girl before her time on Love Island - says she’s always been content in her own skin, which she thinks is thanks to her mum being so confident. ‘I think the best thing to do is to love yourself from within, because it's always going to shine through,' she adds, when asked how other people can be more Maura. 'And I just think people care so much about what other people think, they need to realise that not everyone's going to love you. That's life, not everyone's gonna love you. So, if you love yourself, you're gonna be confident.’ She also says that she has always been as confident in her approach to sex, too. ‘You know me,’ she adds, ‘I’ll say anything, I’m not afraid to open up about sex.’
Even though Maura has spent the last few months on Dancing On Ice (she came sixth), she still has loads in store. ‘I've been working on different projects for months now like really, really hard. Like, even when I was doing Dancing On Ice, I've been working really, really hard and I just can't wait to show everyone what I've been working on.’ She doesn’t know how she manages to keep on top of her schedule. When asked if she has the time to fit dating in - she’s just split from her Love Island boyfriend Curtis Pritchard - she says she hasn’t even considered it. ‘I’ve not thought about it,’ Maura says. ‘Things are still very, very fresh. Right now, I’m focusing on me - I’m stronger than ever.’
READ MORE: Love Island's Maura Higgins: 'I've Been Misjudged My Whole Life'