Love Island’s Maura Higgins Is Not Here For The Rumours About Her And Greg O’Shea

Love Island’s Maura Higgins has commented on the rumours about her and fellow Islander Greg O’Shea supposedly flirting hours after he broke up with Amber Gill, calling them ‘ridiculous’.

‘It's 2019. Just because I'm photographed doesn't mean I'm flirting or sleeping with him,’ she told The Sun at the launch of her new boohoo collection, ‘If I was photographed with a girl nothing would be said about it.’

‘It's a bit ridiculous. I'm with Curtis, as everyone knows, and Greg is a friend,’ she continued.

The rumours began after Maura appeared alongside Greg on RTE’s The Late Late Show, which aired just hours after it was revealed that Greg had dumped Amber by text – something close friends Anna and Mandi Vakili confirmed on Instagram.

Maura was accused of being ‘disrespectful’ by fans after they went to a bar together after the show. However, she has insisted she has nothing to apologise for. When asked if she had spoken to Amber about the night out, she said, ‘No, not at all. Why would I have to speak to her about it? Greg is a friend and did nothing wrong.’

It seems as if a relatively simple situation has been made a lot more convoluted, although the loud online commentary does speak to a larger issue about navigating friendships when two people in your group split up.

However, there is clearly no hard feelings on Amber’s side, as the Love Island winner turned up to support Maura at the boohoo launch, where she was asked about Greg. And if she has no issue with Maura and Greg’s friendship, why should anyone else?

It does seem to be a contentious issue, as many disagree that friends should stay close to an ex of another friend (there are also issues of gender norms at play). Maura might have been a great friend to Amber in the villa, but how could we know how close she’s become to Greg since they left?

Again, this whole scandal rests on the idea that men and women cannot have a platonic friendship. Which, is not just hugely heteronormative, but also implies that the only thing women and men can offer each other is sex and that sex is inevitable, which is an entirely problematic assumption.

Watch: Maura Higgins reacts to the funniest Love Island memes

Perhaps it’s time we leave the outdated assumptions in the past and let Maura and Amber live their lives without pitting them against each other – they’re clearly not letting it get to them, so it’s about time everyone else didn’t too.

Read more: The best reactions to Love Island 2019....