After months of speculation, Maya Jama has appeared to 'confirm' her relationship with footballer Ruben Dias for the first time.
The pair, who have been linked since November last year, were spotted packing on the PDA at KSI’s Baller League event in London earlier this month. Despite neither of the pair confirming their romance publicly yet, this marks the first time the pair have been spotted together in public since they were thought to have started dating.
However, there have been rumblings; eagle-eyed fans have suspected Maya has hinted at the romance by sharing pictures of flowers she has been sent, and earlier this year, Gary Lineker appeared confirm Maya and Jama were dating in a TikTok video.
Is Maya Jama with Ruben Dias?
Rumours have been swirling about a romance between Maya Jama and Rueben Dias since last year. It all started after they met at the European Music Awards (EMAs) in November. The pair have reportedly been an item for several months, and now it seems they've finally confirmed their relationship. The pair were seen kissing and hugging at YouTube personality KSI’s Baller League football event at Copper Box Arena in April.
'Maya and Ruben seemed very close, very loved up and were clearly very comfortable with each other,' a source told The Sun, who shared the footage. 'They were chatting to others around them but gravitated back to each other. They seem very happy with each other.'
Who did Ruben Dias date?
Ruben is no stranger to dating a woman in the public eye. He dated pop star April Ivy from 2018 to 2021, citing 'lifestyle differences' as the reason for their split. According to reports, Dias wanted a 'more discreet' lifestyle than the singer. 'The lifestyles, more discreet on the part of the footballer contrasting with the more exuberant side of the artist, ended up becoming irreconcilable...,' a source told Portuguese magazine Flash!
After his split with Ivy, Dias was then linked to Love Island star and model Arabella Chi. They dated for around six months, before it was reported in The Sun that Dias had split with Chi. In an exclusive interview with The Sun on Sunday, Chi spoke candidly about her love life. 'Last year was probably my unluckiest when it came to finding the one. I’ve been so unlucky in love. I’ve dated people I thought at the time were the one, which was a mistake I’ve since learnt from,' she said. 'What I’ve learnt from dating last year is that you think you know someone but you don’t really know them at all.'
How long were Maya Jama and Stormzy together?
Maya and Stormzy had a five year relationship, between 2014 and 2019. The couple first met at an event in London. In an interview with Vogue in 2018, Maya said she 'fancied him from the start,' continuing 'But I didn't want anything yet, because, you know, you're trying to do the whole friend situation first, and then I'd do, like, obvious hints that I fancied him and then take it back because I didn't know if he definitely likes me. It was a childish phase. And then one day we just kissed, and that was that!'
The pair split in 2019, bur four years later were spotted holding hands in Greece, prompting rumours they'd rekindled - which they later confirmed on Instagram. However, the pair eventually called it quits in July 2024.
Jama announced the news of their split on Instagram, writing they had 'spent this past year trying our best to make it work.' She said: 'We've been laughing whilst drafting this because we never, ever, in a million years thought we'd be the couple announcing a break-up. We fell madly in love in 2014, broke up in 2019, and then spent five years manoeuvring life apart. We decided to try for the final time in August 2023, and we've spent this past year trying our best to make it work; however, we recently decided to call it quits.'
She explained they were both early in their careers when they met and 'spent five years growing together and then five years growing separately,' continuing 'This final attempt required a whole lot of figuring out, relearning. We still think the absolute world of each other, we still care and respect each other, we are still grateful for the time we've had together, and we are still friends and will always be friends (so if you see us having a lil catch-up at The Brits or something, don't cause a fuss, we are dawgs!).'
She finished by thanking fans 'for all the love you've showered us with' and asked 'for the grace to let both of us keep it moving and not be bothered about it.'
Are Maya Jama and Stormzy still friends?
Yes, it appears so. In an interview with The Guardian, Maya explained that the pair are 'happy in this friendship zone.' She continued 'I think it’s nice that people love him for being cute and love me for being cute, and when two people you like come together then people get excited by it. That’s just what happens in the celebrity world, don’t you think?' adding 'Anybody I date is going to be a thing at the moment. Because everybody I’m seen with – any friend, or my cousin recently – it’s Maya and the mystery man, so I can’t be seen with any man publicly without the media making a story of it.'
Alice Hall is the Staff Writer at Grazia UK. At Grazia, she writes news and features about pop culture, health, politics and interiors.