They’re no strangers to dating in the public eye, with some high-profile relationships to both of their names. And it seems that Joey Essex and Maura Higgins may now be an item after they were papped snogging at the Pride of Britain Awards last week.
Love Islander Maura, 31, was spotted laughing and giggling with the former TOWIE star, 32, at the event, before the pair shared a smooch and left together.
The kiss sent fans into meltdown, with one writing that they would be a “reality TV match made in heaven”. And since their PDA at the awards, insiders have said that the pair have been “messaging non-stop” and are “planning their first date”.
And when Closer spoke to Joey on the red carpet at the PoB awards, the Essex star said of his love life, “It’s one of those things where I just say, ‘No comment!’. But it’s good – it’s always good!”
While Joey dated Sam Faiers for three years on TOWIE, he’s also had public romances with MIC star Stephanie Pratt and model Lorena Medina, who he met on Ex On The Beach last year.
Meanwhile, Maura left Love Island with Curtis Pritchard and then went on to date Chris Taylor – another Love Island co-star – and Strictly star Giovanni Pernice.
Check out: Joey Essex's girlfriends - who has the TOWIE star dated?
Joey Essex girlfriend
1 of 7Joey Essex and Sam Faiers
It's safe to say that Joey and Sam had a turbulent relationship during their time on and off TOWIE. They met on the show back in 2010 and started dating but split a year later. They then reunited and got engaged in 2012 but after another year together they split.
2 of 7Amber Turner
Before she even appeared on TOWIE, Amber was papped leaving a nightclub holding Joey's hand in 2012. This was during Joey and Sam's relationship when they were very much 'off', and years before Amber started dating Dan Edgar (aka Joey's former pal).
3 of 7Stephanie Pratt
After meeting on Celebs Go Dating in 2016, Joey and Stephanie Pratt did what most of the stars do - date their fellow celebrity co-stars instead of the regular people they're paired up with. Things seemed promising but it quickly became clear that they wasn't going to last after they split one month later. Fast forward a few months and Joey was back on Celebs Go Dating.
4 of 7Amy Willerton
They met on I'm A Celeb back in 2014 and Amy even taught Joey how to tell the time in the jungle. After growing close on the show, it appeared that they were smitten with each other but it wasn't long before 'showmance' speculation began to do the rounds and a year later, Amy claimed that Joey did want to have a fake relationship.
5 of 7Ellie Brown
Back in October 2018, Ellie was pictured snogging Joey Essex following her split with Charlie Brake. Fast forward a month and Joey and Ellie apparently confirmed their romance with a kiss on Instagram. Their relationship fizzled out a few months later but they came face to face on Celebrity Ex On The Beach back in 2020.
6 of 7Lorena Medina
Joey and Lorena met on Celebrity Ex On The Beach in 2020 and started dating. Shortly after the show wrapped, things moved quickly for the pair with Lorena moving into Joey's Essex home. They appeared to be totally loved up until Joey was pictured leaving Rita Ora's home following a night out and Lorena dumped him.
7 of 7Brenda Santos
Joey went on to date Brazilian model Brenda Santos, but their whirlwind romance only lasted five months. Brenda later revealed they had sex at least once every day and said that Joey loved her 'bum bum'.