Maya Jama has reflected on her relationship with Stormzy.
The former couple split in August 2019 after four years together, amid claims the rapper had been unfaithful.
During her cover shoot interview with British Vogue, the Love Island host – who is half Swedish, half Somali – opened up about the cultural significance of her romance with the rapper – who is of Ghanian descent.
Maya told the publication: “None of us really knew the level of importance it held to a certain group of people, us being together.”
“We were both super ambitious. We were both from similar upbringings and we were both just little grafters that have made something good of ourselves.”
when asked about their 2019 split, the Love Island host admitted: “It was lovely when it was lovely, and then you move.”
Discussing how she deals with a break-up, Maya said: “Yeah, I’ve got that harshness. I don’t want revenge, I just want you to always feel like, “I’m so f**king sad I’ve lost them.” You’re going to miss my presence based on my absence.”
“The best thing you can do is try and do everything that made you happy before you met them,” Maya continued.
The 28-year-old was linked to her rapper ex earlier this year, after she ended her engagement to NBA player Ben Simmons.
The pair have been spotted hanging out on numerous occasions in recent months, and sources claimed they were back in “regular contact”.
While their reported reconciliation delighted fans of the former couple, sources told Goss.ie at the time that claims they’re back together are “completely untrue”.
Back in January, Maya insisted she was “really, really single” during an interview with The Times.
However, the presenter also opened up about her former relationship with Stormzy in the same interview.
She said: “We were so young when we met, just beginning our careers. I was starting at MTV. He’d not even released a single at that point. We were just little babies.”
“I don’t think either of us knew it was going to be such a big thing. We were just: we’re young and in love and we’re going to go for it and work really hard. We’re just together. We never really did red carpets. We didn’t do any of that stuff.”
Stormzy also opened up about his split from Maya in a previous interview with British GQ, saying: “I think my break-up with Maya was still really heavy on my heart.”
“I’d never experienced a breakup and the feelings that come with a breakup. And I never wanted to ever be in a position again where I felt what I was feeling.”
“Because it showed me that I was a boy. And I do not want to go any further as a boy. I’ve seen how that manifests in other people. And I don’t want to be like that.”
“So what is the necessary work I have to do to make sure I’m not in this position again? That means growth, accountability, changing my character, changing my routines, my habits, my tradition, my values, my morals.”
“Because how I feel right now and how I’ve made someone else feel and how I’ve devastated a world that I was living in – I just never want to be in this position again. So what do I need to do?”
Months after his split from Maya, Stormzy admitted he “done the dirt” on the presenter in an emotional track called ‘Lessons’ on his album Heavy Is The Head.
The lyrics read: “I done the dirt and then I figured that you’ll dig it out / But that’s a coward move, I guess you got me figured out / I know you’ll never listen now.”
In the second verse, Stormzy rapped: “Fast forward now, my nephew’s still asking for his Auntie Maya / Guess this is the karma for what I done to Maya.”
“Greatest love I ever knew, I poured it down the drain / Maybe it’s the only way we both call it a day / You gave me the world and then I gave you disrespect / Hand on my heart, this is my biggest of regrets / Thought I’d say it here than rather fling it in a text / Until you’re ready to forgive I’m always wishing you the best but…”
Late last year, fans called for Maya and Stormzy to get back together after the grime rapper opened up about their painful split on Louis Theroux Meets…
He said: “My break-up, that was probably the biggest catalyst for growth as a man.”
“It was like, OK, you made a mistake and you lose someone you loved, someone you cared for, someone who is special to you. That’s probably the biggest loss a man can have, isn’t it? Away from someone passing away, that’s the biggest loss you can have.”
“The whole f***ing palaver that surrounded that situation, do you know what I mean? There were other things in terms of mistakes I’d made. I didn’t do what a man should do to fully appreciate love, and care for his woman.”
Stormzy told Louis: “Long story short, I learned that if I don’t want to feel like that again, and if I believe that God will bless me again with an amazing woman and a family and marriage and all of that kind of thing… I have to do all the necessary work to never be in that situation again.”
