Maya Jama appeared emotional as she looked back at how much things have changed in the last few years. The TV and radio presenter touched down in South Africa over the weekend ahead of the new winter edition of Love Island.
Her first outing as host will be seen on-screen next week when the reality series returns for its first winter series in three years, since before the coronavirus pandemic. Maya took over from Laura Whitmore, 37, who announced she was stepping down in August following the end of the summer 2022 series.
Maya has previously revealed that she did not have to audition for the role and said yes "straight away", describing the job as a "golden ticket". The 28-year-old, who has been a fan of the show since the first series, also said her best friend was the first to find out the good news.
And Maya appears ready to get started as she showed off her natural, post-flight look on Instagram after landing in South Africa. The former Glow Up presenter posted a string of images to the social media platform after stepping off the plane.
The brunette beauty could be seen in a casual ensemble, sporting a tight green crop top, an oversized hoodie, and a pair of matching joggers. She went makeup free for her journey, and we don't blame her, but attempted to hide her eyes after the long-haul flight by wearing a pair of dark sunglasses.
However, she did appear in high spirits as Maya threw up a peace sign at the cameras while at the airport before being chauffeured to her accommodation for the next few weeks. She also shared some snaps from her flight, which including a check in on the football back in the UK, as well as a giving a look at the stunning South African countryside after landing in Cape Town.
"Overnight flight, ello South Africa," she captioned the post which was soon flooded with comments including one from former Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison said: "Cannot wait to watch you lass. Smash it."
But it appears Maya was also in a reflective mood as she shared a video of herself modelling a stunning summer white dress when in Majorca for the Love Island final in 2019. Captioning the post, she shared: "2019 when I was on aftersun for the @loveisland Final and now look," before adding an emotional, tear-filled emoji and red heart.
It came ahead of confirmation that the new series of Love Island see the first partially sighted resident of the villa as the cast head to South Africa. Ron Hall, 25, a financial adviser from Essex, who lost his sight in one eye while playing football aged eight, joins the cast alongside a farmer, Michelle Keegan's body double and a make-up artist to the stars.
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