Father of Maura Higgins devastated after she cut him off over 'horrendous' phone call

The father of I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here star Maura Higgins is said to be baffled and devastated over the reason his daughter severed all contact with him.

Maura, 33, who will enter the Australian jungle a little later than the initial ten stars, said that following a "horrendous" phone call that left her in a state of panic, she hadn't spoken to her dad for years. During a recent interview on Married At First Sight expert Paul C Brunson's podcast We Need To Talk, the reality TV star, who appeared on Love Island in 2019, said that the relationship with her father became strained following her parents' split.

But Seamus Higgins has told friends and family that he still confused as to what sparked their rift Speaking to the Mail, a source close to Maura's dad said: "Poor Seamus hasn't taken it all well, he's really upset and confused by what Maura's been saying. He just doesn't understand where it's come from, she will always be his daughter of course but he doesn't know what she is talking about and it's hit him really hard."

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They added: "At the end of the day he is a family man and he loves his son and daughters and if Maura has a problem then he would like to sort it out but he just can't fathom where all this has come from. They haven't spoken for a while but he's busy trucking and she's busy in London so that's understandable but he just doesn't know where all this animosity has come from."

The family insider continued: "None of us really know the reason for the feud and even if Seamus knew I doubt he'd tell anyone. He's a very private man and he is away with work a lot of the time, so we don't get to see him much. It's not unusual for him to be gone eight or nine days in a row because he drives long-distances all over Europe. But he does find it hard not speaking with his daughter, as anyone in his situation would. I really hope he and Maura reunite soon."

During her chat with Paul on his popular podcast, she opened up on her relationship with her estranged father. She told the relationship expert: "It's kind of weird. We haven't spoken in a few years now. My dad spoke to me, not very nice. I'm not saying, it was just a bit of an argument."

She added: "It was horrendous where I physically couldn't breathe after the phone call. I thought to myself, 'I wouldn't let a partner talk to me like that. I wouldn't let a friend talk to me like that. I'm not going to let my dad talk to me like that'. But also, I think if I dig deep, I don't think I've ever forgiven my dad for not being there for me when my best friend passed away. And he wasn't there for me."

Maura's friend Andrew Rowan died at the age of 26 when his motorbike crashed with three cars in County Athlone, Ireland in 2017.

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