They’re both Love Island contestants who have graduated from the reality series to become Queens of reality TV – and Olivia Attwood and Maura Higgins have continued to trailblaze their way through a whole host of high-profile shows after becoming household names.
But despite their individual success stories, talk of a bitter feud has followed the pair, making headlines last November when Liv appeared to suggest Maura had been ‘piggy-backing’ on her career instead of following her own path.
In a not-so-subtle social media dig at her ‘nemesis’, who Liv didn’t mention by name, the Loose Women star wrote at the time, ‘One day I'm going to write a book and some of the stuff I have managed to keep (zip emoji) on over the years. It will blow your f***ing mind.
‘You can try to hire all the same people, regurgitate my stories as your own, study the playbook, follow the recipe blah blah but it will *never* taste the same. That's all’
And now sources say that Maura’s recent split from Olivia’s long-time friend Pete Wicks, 36 - after she reportedly found texts to and from other women on his phone – has added fuel to the fire.
The insider says, ‘This feud has been going on for ages between Olivia and Maura. There's been hostility between them for a long while. Maura feels that Liv thought she wasn’t good enough for Pete - she just wishes she’d keep out of her love life.’
The pair were thought to have been dating since November when they were seen kissing on a date in London, but when questioned where she thought Pete was on Valentine’s Day, Maura replied, ‘Probably cheating’.
Olivia has known Pete since joining The Only Way is Essex in 2019, and the pair have remained firm friends although they’ve never been romantically linked.
While Olivia, who appeared on Love Island in 2017, is said to believe that Maura – who found fame on the show two years later - has followed the blueprint of her success, Maura has denied all knowledge of their feud, with a source claiming she has nothing but ‘respect’ for her.
Hitting back at reports that Maura had felt ‘unease’ over the news that married Olivia was to host a new KISS FM show – ‘The Sunday Roast’ – alongside Pete, which launched on Sunday, a source close to Maura spoke out, saying, ‘Any time there’s been a suggestion of a feud or competitiveness it has always baffled Maura.’
So far, Maura has followed Olivia in joining Love Island, as well as taking part in I’m a Celebrity…. Olivia entered the jungle in 2022 but was forced to leave on medical grounds after two days, while Maura joined in 2024 coming in seventh place.
Maura and Olivia had known each other before they found fame in the Villa, first meeting in their mutual roles as Monster Energy Girls – an agency hiring girls for promotional purposes at sporting events – back in 2016.
Maura later joined the same PR agency as Olivia – a move Olivia is said to have been suspicious of. Olivia is also said to have questioned Maura’s reasons for joining Love Island after fans noticed that she had followed the ‘same script’ as Olivia, who joined the ITV2 dating show after splitting with footballer Bradley Dack.
The couple later reunited and married in 2023.
Maura, meanwhile, also claimed she had chosen to take part in the show in 2019 after experiencing a recent, toxic breakup.
And the source says documentary-maker Olivia – who has also starred in Celebs Go Dating, alongside her own reality TV shows with Bradley – also suspects Maura would love to sit on the Loose Women panel.
They say, ‘She knows Maura has always wanted to be a Loose Woman, she really wants to be a star. But she's tried with This Morning and I’m a Celebrity…, but nothing has come from either of those shows.
‘Liv wants to boost other women and would happily give advice - she feels like Maura should just be open about it if she wants to emulate her career.’