Maura Higgins shot to fame on Love Island five years ago – and is set to arrive in the I’m A Celebrity jungle tonight.
But while the 33-year-old Irish model and TV presenter has turned heads since she’s been in the public eye – and is even rumoured to be dating TOWIE and Strictly Come Dancing star Pete Wicks – she hasn’t always looked like she does now.
In ‘before’ pictures that have resurfaced from a photoshoot in 2012 when she was just 21, Maura is seen with a very different look. This has prompted speculation she has work done on her face and body.
Though Maura claims she has only had lip filler and braces to even out her teeth – and the rest of it is down to her face and body maturing, plus regular exercise and a healthy diet.
After looking at the pictures from her younger years, one cosmetic surgery expert told the Mirror he thought Maura may have had facial contouring on her cheeks and jawline to add definition.
But Maura – who recently won praise for showing fans her grey hairs after revealing she went grey at 18 – has hit back at speculation. She told MailOnline: “I got my lips done three months after coming out of Love Island and lip fillers lasts five to six months. I haven’t had anything done since then, I just let it dissolve.
“But people still assume I’ve had my lips done, Botox, people are even saying I’ve had my nose done when I’ve not actually had any work. I had braces on for a long time and since my teeth have moved, they’ve actually pushed my lips out slightly and I feel like I don’t need it. If I were to get my lips down now with my straight teeth, it just wouldn’t be a good look.”
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When it comes to her body looking different, Maura has admitted that at one point she developed an ‘obsession’ with exercise that got so bad she didn’t have a period for four months.
It was only when her mum Sharon and then boyfriend Chris Taylor brought it to her attention after becoming increasingly concerned about her that Maura was forced to address the issue.
She said in the same interview: “I’m not working out as much as I was, I ended up losing too much weight. I’m not doing it as much, once, twice a week max, and to be honest I’m just really good with my diet. It’s all about balance.
“At the weekends I eat what I want and during the week I obviously try my best to eat healthier foods. But with the exercise, it’s very easy to get obsessed with it. It got to a stage where it was actually affecting my periods; I lost my period for four months. Especially at my age, it’s obviously not good. I want to have kids someday so I know that’s just not a good thing to happen.”
Maura, who admits being more of an ‘indoor girl’ who has never camped before, is in for the ‘shock of her life’ when she is dumped in the Junkyard Jungle tonight. This is a secret camp separate from the other celebs. But fans will have to wait and see how she handles it away from her usual life of luxury.
