Who is Maya Jama? All you need to know about the Bristol-born Love Island presenter
Maya Jama, one of the biggest TV and radio presenters in the UK, is hosting another series of Love Island.
The Bristol-born star is now filming for series 10 in Mallorca.
Maya has said hosting her first summer series of Love Island feels “special” but admitted she feels pressure to live up to expectations after being praised during her debut earlier this year.
The broadcaster, 28, took over the presenting role on the hit ITV dating show from Laura Whitmore for the last winter series in South Africa.
Ahead of the show’s return to screens on Monday, she revealed what it is like being the face of a series which counts famous faces including Margot Robbie, Tobey Maguire and Amy Schumer among its fans.
Speaking to reporters at the villa in Majorca about the summer series, she said: “It’s special. I feel now (after) the first one, I’ve got it and we’ve done it, all the nerves are gone a bit and now I’m ready to go.”
“I’m so excited. It’s coming around so fast, I feel like we were just doing it yesterday and now it’s like ‘back at it again’,” she added.
Reflecting about returning to the show, she said: “The only pressure I feel is because it went well last time, so I just want to keep it well.”
Who is Maya Jama?
Maya Jama is a radio and TV personality. She was born in Bristol in 1994 and is of Somali and Swedish descent.
Named after the writer Maya Angelou, she grew up with her mother Sadie, who gave birth to her when she was 19 years old.
Maya has previously opened up about facing a difficult upbringing, with her father being in prison for most of her childhood for crimes related to violence.
After spending her childhood in Bristol and attending Cotham School, Jama moved to London in 2012 to pursue her dreams – first as an actress and then as a model and television presenter.
As a teen, she made her debut in presenting, hosting the weekly music video countdown on JumpOff.TV. She later worked for Sky UK on TRACE Sports.
At 28 years old Maya Jama has already worked on a long list of radio and television shows.
She joined BBC Radio 1 in 2018, where she presented her own show, Maya Jama on Fridays and Saturdays.
More recently she has also appeared on RuPaul's Drag Race UK.
Is Maya Jama engaged?
In January 2022, Maya Jama announced her engagement to basketball star Ben Simmons after the pair had been dating for just over a year.
But in September 2022, it was revealed that the pair had called their engagement off due to their conflicting schedules.
Did Maya Jama date Stormzy?
Maya Jama and Stormzy dated from 2015 until 2019. The pair met after she began working as a presenter on MTV. Their break-up inspired his 2019 song 'Lessons'.
Maya has previously said: "I’ve felt like maybe some people didn’t take me seriously, or people downplay my success because of relationships or because of how I look – but I know how much I’ve worked."
What is Maya Jama's net worth?
It is reported that Maya Jama is worth an estimated £1.5million.
She has previously revealed that she had become a millionaire at 24.