Maura Higgins has admitted she “didn’t fancy” Chris Taylor in the Love Island villa.
The reality stars appeared on the dating show back in 2019, forming a close friendship after the series ended.
After months of dating rumours, the couple finally confirmed their romance in November, with Maura revealing she wasn’t initially attracted to her beau.
Speaking to the MailOnline, the Longford native said: “It happened so quick between us.
“Obviously there was a lot of press about us for so long but we were genuinely just friends, nothing had ever happened – we hadn’t even kissed. I started going on dates again and everything.
“Chris and I never believed it would progress into something more than just a friendship. But now looking at it, friendship is a good foundation to a relationship and it just seems to work.
“I honestly never thought Chris was into me at all. I even asked him: ‘Did you fancy me in Love Island or what’s the story?’ He said he did, but when he asked me I told him, ‘no I didn’t fancy you at all!'”
Despite Maura initially seeing Chris as just a friend, she admitted her mother saw a potential romance between the couple all along.
The 30-year-old explained: “When Chris and I were just friends Mammy was always saying to me ‘the man for you is right in front of you and you haven’t clocked on yet.'”
“We get on very well – we could spend every single second of every day together and not have an argument. We don’t argue, he’s the male version of me and we have such a laugh together.
“It’s going very, very good. For me, I think it was the friendship that attracted him to me. We know each other so well,” she added.
The news comes after Maura shared her plans to marry Chris, and opened up about her plans to start a family.
Speaking to The Sun On Sunday, the Irish star admitted: “I look into the future and see myself with a family.
“I want to be married before I have a baby, so Chris better hurry up and give me that engagement ring, because I’m not getting any younger.”
