ITV I'm A Celebrity's Maura Higgins breaks silence on Pete Wicks romance rumours

Former Love Island star Maura Higgins has candidly discussed her personal life as she makes her way into the Jungle. Maura is set to arrive in camp on Thursday amid rampant speculation about her relationship with Strictly star Pete Wicks, especially after the duo were seen sharing a kiss at the Pride of Britain Awards last month.

When quizzed about whether she had been on a date with Pete, she responded with a teasing: "I mean, I've been on a date with many people."

However, she's quick to downplay any romantic links, asserting: "I'm not [dating]. Where have you heard that? I date but I'm very much single," and expressing her disinterest in the public fascination with her love life: "Honestly, I just think the interest in my dating life is so boring. People go on dates. Like everyone goes on dates, but then it suddenly becomes that I am in a relationship with this person, or that person."

Fresh from a raucous stint in Las Vegas, Maura admits to feeling worse for wear: "Honestly, I'm not good....I feel like I'm in The Hangover, I've even got the shakes," she chuckles. Disoriented by her whirlwind schedule, she adds: "I have no clue what time it is, I don't know where I am. In fact, I've done the opposite of preparing myself [for the jungle]. I've tried not to think about it, because when I think about it, I get so much anxiety."

Maura's unconventional pre-Jungle preparation can be excused. She will become only the second Love Islander, following Olivia Attwood, to appear on the ITV show tomorrow and is determined to represent former contestants of the show, reports the Mirror.

"I just don't want to let people down, because everyone's been DMing me, saying 'Oh my God, I hope you're doing the show.'" she explains. "I don't want to back out of the trials and be the biggest wimp in the camp."

She reveals her mum was astounded when she told her she'd signed up for the Jungle. "She nearly died. She went: 'Maura, how are you going to do that? ' She is baffled as I'm more of an indoor girl...I like my hotels. I've never slept outside," she says.

She even refused to camp at festivals. "I'm always like, 'no, get me back to a hotel,'" she chuckles.

Trials also seem like they could pose a challenge. "If spiders go over the top of my head, I might just die," she admits.

"I'm not a nervous person at all. I don't get anxiety. But for this show, when I think about it, I'm like, 'Oh God'".

When Maura made her debut on our screens in 2019, it's fair to say she stirred things up in the Love Island villa. So, what can we expect when she enters the camp alongside Rev Richard Coles as one of the late arrivals?

"It's been five years and I think I've matured, but I still have a potty mouth," she admits. "I'm still the same kind of girl but I'm not going to go in and annihilate anyone. However, if someone gets on my nerves, I'm not really one to hold it in. I do speak my mind. If someone patronized me, I get really irritated. Like, that's one thing that really drives me mad."

Unlike Love Island where participants are fully glammed up, Maura is excited for the chance to be more natural. "I've not even got my brows done...I've not done anything," she discloses.

"I cannot wait to just not have to get up and put makeup on and care about it, because it's not that type of show. Like, you're not really in there to look good, are you? ".

She also looks forward to leaving behind her phone. "I never care about my phone really. Like, even on Love Island, a lot of the Islanders were complaining about missing their phone. I was like, 'I'm loving not having my phone.'".

ITV executives will surely expect her arrival to shake things up in camp - potentially bringing drama. Nonetheless, Maura believes she'll integrate well with the group - and she can't wait to grill Coleen Rooney about the Wagatha Christie saga.

"I want to talk to her about that....I'm bit nosy like that," she reveals. "I would do the exact same and put up something on my story and just have certain people view it to catch that person out. That is the way my brain would work".

One aspect of jungle life that does not sit well with her is the infamous jungle shower. "I mean I'd probably fall over and break my leg. Like, that's what will happen to me. I've packed my bikinis, but I haven't really thought much about it. I'm a bit worried about that water being freezing cold. I hate cold water, so I could be the girl that doesn't shower the whole time."

When questioned about the possibility of putting her foot in it, she admits that anything can happen.

"I talk a lot, so I struggle with that. Like, I don't really think before I speak a lot of the time. So God knows what I want I am going to say," she says. However, she remains unfazed by the prospect of viewers not taking a liking to her.

"It just doesn't bother me. I actually just find it funny. Like, I'll screenshot bad comments and put them in my group chat and we just have a laugh about that."

Lastly, when asked what she hopes people will take away from her time in the jungle, she responds, "They will learn that I can be quite soft...I'm not just this hardcore girl, 24/7. I do have a big heart, so I hope they see that.