Who is Maya Jama’s former fiance Ben Simmons? All about the Love Island host’s relationship before Stormzy
AS THE Queen of Love Island, it’s fair to say Maya Jama is riding high.
But while she is busy matchmaking other people, fans are keen to know more about her love life – including more about her ex Ben Simmons.
Who is Ben Simmons?
Basketball star Ben was born on July 20, 1996, in Melbourne, Australia.
He has played for the Philadelphia 76ers since 2016.
The 6ft 11 inch star was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2018.
Although he has dual nationality of Australia and the US, he plays for the Aussie national squad.
When did Maya Jama and Ben Simmons get engaged?
Woman-of-the-moment Maya Jama started dating basketball star Ben Simmons in May 2021.
They confirmed their romance in June 2021 when Ben shared a screenshot of an intimate FaceTime call he shared with Maya on his Instagram story.
After much speculation, on January 11, 2022, the couple confirmed their engagement.
The NBA player asked TV star Maya to marry him over Christmas 2021,.
Sadly it wasn’t meant to be and the pair split in September 2022.
This wasn’t Ben’s first famous girlfriend, he is also Kendall Jenner’s ex-boyfriend.
Who else has Maya Jama dated?
Love Island host Maya has been linked to other men during her time in the spotlight.
Stormzy
Maya is dating Stormzy, despite the pair having a very on/off romance.
The two began dating back in 2016, after being linked a year earlier.
Although their relationship seemed to be going smoothly, with fans dubbing them “couple goals” on social media, the pair abruptly broke up in 2019.
Rumours said that the rapper had been unfaithful to Maya and his 2019 song Lessons, inspired by the separation, only added fuel to the fire.
However, Stormzy cleared things up by saying : “I didn’t cheat. What I did was a big disrespect, what I did was very inconsiderate.”
“It didn’t need to be cheating for it still to be a disrespect. But I thought now is a good time to say I didn’t cheat on my ex.”
Despite their breakup, however, they seemed to be on good terms when they spent Christmas 2020 together.
In 2022, Maya and Stormzy got back together.
Drake
Some fans believed Maya had a tryst with Drake. Others are convinced that she turned him down.
The rumour mill went into a spinning frenzy in 2020 when he name dropped her in his feature with Headie, Only You.
He rapped: “Chubbs might jam this yute for a chain / And give it to a sweet one, called that Maya Jama.”
It was only after that it was revealed that Drake had sent a number of private messages while Maya was still in a relationship with Stormzy.
Rico Gordon
Maya’s first love was heartbreakingly killed when she was 16-years-old, in 2011.
Two men from rival gangs, aged 31 and 27, have since been found guilty of his murder.
Shakah Anderson and Rickel Adams were given life sentences at Bristol Crown Court and were also found guilty of possession of a firearm.
Maya has since spoken of the trauma induced by her first boyfriend’s murder.
Speaking to Cosmopolitan in July, 2020, she said: “With my boyfriend passing, it gave me a fearless approach to things. I felt like life was really short.”
“Out of everything that happened in my life, that was a reality check on a massive scale.”
“At 16 you think the world is a fairytale and it took me out of that. It made me even more determined.”
Love Island 2024 line up
Here are your Love Island 2024 contestant
Patsy Field
The Sun revealed how Love Island has reportedly signed stunning Patsy Field, who is an Influencer with a disability.
Patsy is 29 from London and has Erb’s Palsy.
This means one of her arms is shorter than the other and has less function.
She has spoken out on social media about her disability in the past.
She said: “One thing you guys don’t know about me is I have a disability. I have never spoken about it on here before because I am a bit self-conscious about it to be honest.
“Pretty much everyone says they don’t notice it, or they have never noticed it before but once I tell you go back and look through my old videos, you’ll be able to spot it.”
Samantha Kenny
Samantha Kenny from Liverpool could be entering the Love Island villa this summer.
The 27-year-old works in a beauty salon as a make-up artist.
Samantha is no stranger to social media as she’s often seen posting on Instagram.
Grace Jackson
Grace Jackson is a Manchester-based model.
The influencer is already followed by famous faces such as Molly-Mae Hague and Conor McGregor.
The 25-year-old works for the agency MM Models.
She has enjoyed an incredible career so far and has already collaborated with some big brands.
This includes Fashion Nova and postar Rihanna’s lingerie brand, Savage X Fenty.
Ciaran Davies
Welshman Ciaran Davies is set to enter the Majorca villa.
A source told us: “Ciaran caught the eye of Love Island bosses immediately.
“He’s gorgeous with a fit athletic build that will send the girls in the villa wild, but he’s also a sweet boy next door from Wales to boot.
“He’s the kind of lad you could happily take home to your mum.
“He’s been in talks with bosses for weeks and is set to jet out to the villa in Majorca in the coming week or so.”