Love Island star Chris Taylor has reflected on his split from ex-girlfriend Maura Higgins.
The pair both appeared on the 2019 series of the ITV2 dating show, though didn't strike up a romance until after they left the villa. However, they announced their split after just six months of dating.
Chris, who is now looking for love again on Celebs Go Dating, held back tears as he opened up about their relationship to experts Paul Brunson, Anna Williamson and Dr Tara during a recent episode.
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"I became friends with Maura, and then... yeah, like, we were mates for ages, and then it kind of progressed into other things," he shared.
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The reality star then revealed that he loved Maura but didn't believe the feelings were mutual.
"It sounds very painful," said Anna, to which Chris replied: "It was."
Anna continued: "Problem is, when we hold all of our emotion in, you've got to find a way out somewhere. And it shows up in other ways.
"Typically, people that are dealing with a lot of pain and a lot of repressed negative emotion will find a mask to push them through it."
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"I would argue that you play up the awkward so that people can reject you right off the top. And you don't have to worry about their expectation," added Paul.
Chris admitted it's not "fun" for him to be "vulnerable and open," concluding: "I feel comfortable around the agents talking about it. It doesn't make it any easier."
Chris also appeared on Love Island All Stars earlier this year, and he was asked by OK! at the time if he was worried that the show would also bring back Maura.
"I didn't feel anything about it," he said. "Obviously, we were together three years ago. We had a very cool split, and we've been fine since, and we've both moved on.
"And I knew she was in a relationship so the odds are she wasn't going to be in there. But it hasn't really concerned me either way really, as we've both moved past it."
Celebs Go Dating airs on E4.
Read more Celebs Go Dating news on our dedicated homepage
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Social Executive, Entertainment Portfolio After completing her joint honours degree in Journalism and English Literature at Cardiff University, Iona joined Digital Spy as a Content Production Intern in 2022, where she wrote across both news and features, specialising in TV and movies. Following her internship, Iona continued contributing to the site as a freelance reporter, becoming social executive for the Hearst UK entertainment portfolio in summer 2025. Iona now leads the DS social channels, covering red carpets with stars such as Paul Mescal, Austin Butler, and more.
