Maura Higgins wows in red latex as she heads to Fiji to host Love Island Games; ex Pete Wicks headlines kiss with Jowita Przystal at the O2
Love Island Games host Maura Higgins arrives in the Fiji Islands for the ITV2 spin-off, while Pete Wicks sparks headlines by kissing Jowita Przystal onstage at London's O2 Arena.
Maura Higgins has touched down in the Fiji Islands to host Love Island Games, the ITV2 spin-off that began production last week. The 34-year-old former Love Island contestant is taking the helm for the new series, which expands the franchise with a real-time companion show. Higgins arrived in a blaze of attention, signaling a high-profile run as she steps back into the reality TV spotlight.
In the days leading up to her hosting debut, Higgins posted a striking Instagram moment in a red latex maxi dress, a look that drew immediate reaction from fans. The bold outfit showcased her signature style as she prepared to bring her commentary and hosting duties to the tropical set in the South Pacific. Higgins has previously carved out a cross-border media presence, including recent work on other Love Island-related projects, as she returns to a familiar franchise stage in a new format.
Meanwhile, headlines elsewhere in the Love Island orbit continued to swirl around Pete Wicks, Higgins’s ex-partner. Wicks drew media attention after he was photographed kissing Jowita Przystal, a Strictly Come Dancing professional, onstage at London’s O2 Arena on Friday night. The moment followed public speculation about the pair, who had been linked during Przystal’s time on Strictly and amid reports of a romance dating back to last year. Sources close to the couple later confirmed that Wicks and Przystal have begun dating, marking a new chapter since their onstage performance together in 2024.
Higgins has publicly moved on since ending her relationship with Wicks in February, telling followers she had found messages from other women in his phone. Still, she has carried on with her work in television and modeling, posting provocative updates that have kept her in the public eye. Her social posts, including the caption “Tight fit but I’m flexible,” drew a flood of comments from friends and fans, with messages of support pouring in from fellow reality TV personalities. Higgins’s former Love Island peers, including Molly-Mae Hague and Leah Taylor, joined in with supportive comments as the spotlight shifted across the entertainment calendar.
The Fiji journey has not been without its own travel hiccups for Higgins. She previously disclosed that an AirTag alert warned her luggage was missing at Los Angeles International Airport as she was en route to the South Pacific to begin filming Love Island Games. The situation evolved from a pre-flight worry to a confirmation that her bag had landed on a carousel but was not there to greet her, prompting anxiety about arriving in time for her hosting duties. She documented the scramble in social posts, describing the stress of travel delays while noting her work commitments loomed on arrival. Despite the setback, she pressed on with the trip to Fiji and the responsibilities of her hosting role.
The luggage scare came amid a broader look at Higgins’s professional trajectory, which includes involvement with Love Island-related content beyond the UK edition. Insider chatter has pointed to a growing U.S. footprint for Higgins, including discussions about further opportunities in the United States cinema and television landscape. Reports indicate that Higgins is seen as a key fixture within the Love Island family, with the possibility of more hosting and presenting roles tied to the franchise’s expanding universe. A series insider told The Sun that the decision to launch an Aftersun-style companion show for Love Island Games was influenced by Higgins’s growing fit with the format and the global reach of the program.
As Higgins continues her stint in Fiji, the emphasis remains on delivering the balance of entertainment, hosting duty, and personal resilience that has characterized her career. Her presence in the Games installment underscores the franchise’s approach to cross-border storytelling and audience engagement, blending real-time updates with the romantic and dramatic arcs that fans have come to expect from Love Island properties. The broader narrative around Higgins’s career also reflects a strategic push to diversify her portfolio across different regions and formats, signaling potential future collaborations and appearances that could extend beyond the Fiji-based production.
In the immediate term, Higgins’s hosting role in Love Island Games, paired with the ongoing high-profile headlines around Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystal, keeps cultural and entertainment audiences focused on the intertwining of romance, competition, and celebrity. For fans of the Love Island universe, the season’s launch in the Pacific and subsequent cross-Atlantic connections offer a renewed window into how the franchise evolves while maintaining the familiar threads of personal storylines and dynamic pairings that have driven its popularity for years.