Former Love Island star Maura Higgins has revealed she is missing an unnamed man, who she is “seeing”, while appearing on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!.
During Sunday’s episode of the ITV reality show, the Irish star was asked whether she was single by former Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Oti Mabuse, which Higgins said she was – but added she had been “seeing someone since July”.
Former Communards member Reverend Richard Coles then asked her if they were “exclusive”, to which she replied: “I don’t know.”
The 34-year-old then told the camp she had been missing him, and added that the unnamed man was someone they would know.
She told the camp she felt she had never been in love, and radio presenter Dean McCullough asked: “Does it feel different this time?”
To which she replied: “It does, but then is it because we’ve known each other for a long time?”
Coles added: “You’d know if he was an a**hole or not, by now.”
Higgins smiled and replied: “Yeah, he’s not an a**hole.”
On X, numerous fans are convinced that Higgins was referencing Strictly contestant and The Only Way Is Essex star Pete Wicks, to whom she’s recently been linked.
One viewer commented: “Maura not name dropping Pete Wicks but everyone knows who it is…
“Maura talking about Pete without talking about Pete but we know she’s talking about Pete,” another claimed.
A third added: “It was 100% Pete wasn’t it. Ohhh Maura.”
She has previously been romantically linked to the reality TV star, who has recently denied rumours of a romance between him and his professional dance partner Jowita Przystal, saying: “We have great chemistry because we’ve become such good friends.”
Higgins and Wicks were seen sharing a kiss in public following reports of a romantic moment at the Pride of Britain Awards afterparty last month.
Before competing on the I’m A Celeb, the Irish TV star confirmed that she was single, insisting: “I am single at the moment, but honestly no one is going to fancy me in the jungle. Trust me.”
Since she has entered the jungle, Wicks has taken to social media to rally support, urging fans to vote for her to stay in and win the competition.
Later in Sunday night’s episode, former boxing champion Barry McGuigan volunteered himself for the Spiralling Out Of Control Bushtucker Trial.
Maura talking about Pete without talking about Pete but we know she’s talking about Pete #ImACelebity #ImACeleb pic.twitter.com/sAaomrBXvo
— Tash Jordan (@njdennington) December 1, 2024
Maura not name dropping Pete Wicks but everyone knows who it is… #ImACelebity pic.twitter.com/To65HdcmAD
— alice (@alcritchleyy) December 1, 2024
It was 100% Pete wasn't it. Ohhh Maura 😩 #ImACeleb #ImACelebity #imacelebrity2024 pic.twitter.com/JMwhsWs6oI
— -𝐵𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑡. (@OfHerPlatt) December 1, 2024
He told the Bush Telegraph: “This is a comeback for me, I suffered a TKO in the first round, the last time but this time I’m determined to get it right and I’m looking for the knockout.”
Presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly revealed he would be strapped to a giant spiral wheel, with one hand free, and would win stars by throwing balls into hatches around the side, when they opened, with each ball in a hatch equalling one star.
After McGuigan was strapped in, he was joined by offal, cockroaches and giant mealworms, before he started to be spun around.
The 63-year-old struggled to find his bearings with the spinning, only managing to get one ball in a hatch with ten seconds to go during round one.
As the wheel picked up pace, his ability improved however, and he got a full house in all of the other rounds, scoring 10 out of a possible 11 stars.
Celebrities were also given an opportunity to win their letters from home in the Silent Letters Challenge, which saw them asked to guess a sentimental phrase in the note while it was mouthed by a campmate within two minutes.
All 11 campmates succeeded in guessing their phrases and won their letter from home, however Mabuse struggled for ages to know what her husband dancer Marius Iepure had said, until suddenly she told her campmates “Aero island, it was where we got married”.
Coleen Rooney’s secret phrase from Wayne was “petrol station” after he proposed to her at one, with Coles asking her how it happened.
She replied: “I knew it was going to happen but I definitely didn’t know it was going to be in a petrol station, but I’m glad we didn’t do it in a restaurant to be honest with you.
“We were only young, so we went back and had corned beef hash instead.”
