For someone who rose to fame on a reality dating show, Maura Higgins is surprisingly tight-lipped about her private life. Now that she’s back on our TVs forI’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, many are wondering who she’s been dating since her Love Island days, especially since her relationship with Pete Wicks is reportedly no more. Earlier this week, when asked if she was dating _Strictly Come Dancin_g’s Pete, she replied, ‘I mean, I've been on a date with many people. I'm not. Where have you heard that? I date but I'm very much single.’
On that note, here’s a handy who’s who of every man in Maura Higgins’ life.
James Finnegan
Maura was with James, an Irish car salesman, for nine years before they split up in 2017. They had met in school when she was a teenager and even got engaged towards the end of their relationship. In 2019 James revealed that they’re still on good terms and he even fixes her car from time to time.
Shane McGuigan
Maura dated Shane in 2018, just a year before she jetted of to the Love Island villa. They first met at a David Haye vs Tony Bellew rematch where Maura was working as a ring girl and Shane was commentating a boxing match for a radio show. The pair reportedly dated for a year before the spark fizzled out, likely due to the long-distance since Maura was living in Ireland at the time while Shane lived in South West London. Maura is set for a somewhat awkward reunion in the I’m a Celeb jungle as Shane’s dad, featherweight boxing legend Barry McGuigan, is one of her fellow campmates.
Curtis Pritchard
Any fan of Maura knows that she met dancer Curtis Pritchard on Love Island 2019. Although it was initially a rocky road — Curtis was originally paired up with Amy Hart who confessed that she was in love with him in a now highly-memed split— he and Maura made it to the final of the show. Despite staying together for almost a year after leaving the villa, in March 2020 Maura and Curtis revealed that they’d called time on their relationship. It was reported at the time that Curtis had cheated on the Irish beauty, a claim he denies to this day.
Chris Taylor
A few months after splitting up with Curtis, Maura began dating fellow-Islander Chris Taylor. However, it wasn’t meant to be, and the pair parted ways after six months of dating. Years later, Chris spoke about their relationship on Celebs Go Dating with relationship experts Paul C Brunson and Anna Williamson. He confessed, ‘I became friends with Maura, and we were mates for ages, and then it kind of progressed into other things,’ before admitting that he had fallen in love with her but didn’t think she felt the same.
Giovanni Pernice
Maura then found love with Strictly professional, Giovanni Pernice. The pair confirmed their relationship in the summer of 2021, a few months after she stopped seeing Chris Taylor. She dated the dancer for four months before the pair called it quits and she promptly deleted all evidence of the relationship from her Instagram.
Joey Essex
In October 2022, Maura was spotted kissing the TOWIE alum Joey Essexat a Pride of Britain Awards. However, sometimes a kiss is just a kiss, and when asked about the smooch Maura joked, ‘It's how I greet people!’
Bobby Holland Hanton
Maura was linked with Hollywood stunt double Bobby Holland Hanton— who has doubled for stars like Chris Hemsworth— in May 2023, but their relationship was largely kept out of the public eye. They split up in early 2024.
Kai Widdrington
Maura and the Strictly professional were seen getting cosy at an afterparty in October of this year, but they were never officially an item.
Pete Wicks
While Pete was dancing up a storm on the Strictly dancefloor, many thought he may have caught Maura’s eye, especially when they were snapped sharing a kiss. However, Maura recently confirmed that they are in fact just good friends, and she’s a single woman.