MAURA Higgins was desperate for boyfriend Chris Taylor to propose just four months before their shock split.
The couple became good friends after appearing on the 2019 series of Love Island.
But their relationship turned romantic last summer, with the pair admitting they’d “fallen in love with their best friend”.
And in January, in an exclusive interview with The Sun on Sunday, Maura said she was waiting for Chris to pop the question.
“We’re very much in love and we use the L-word a lot,” said Maura.
“I look into the future and see myself with a family.
“I don’t want a baby any time soon, but when I’m ready and settled.
“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.”
But today, reality TV star Maura, 30, broke the news they’d split, saying they’re better off as friends.
“It breaks my heart to even type this,” said Maura.
“But I wanted to let everyone know that myself and Chris have made the joint decision to end our relationship.
“There is no wrong doing on either side. We still love, care and respect each other deeply from the minute we met each other we’ve been very close friends and that will never change.
“There is no regret, life is about taking chances. We wanted to make this work, but we have realised we work better being friends.
“While I appreciate people may speculate or create false stories, this is the truth.
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“I wish Chris nothing but the best and I will always be one of his biggest supporters. Thank you for all of the love and support.”
Chris added: “We are both still on very good terms and this was a mutual decision where nobody had done anything wrong.”