Maura Higgins opens up about pitfalls of fame and downside of Love Island

Maura Higgins on the pitfalls of fame, tiring of wearing a bikini on Love Island, enjoying lockdown and pinching herself when she sees Ann Summers billboards

Love Island star Maura Huggins has revealed she is enjoying lockdown after her whirlwind year of fame.

The Longford star said it has been a dream come true to launch her own swimwear line with Ann Summers but she has cautioned about the downside of fame.

And she said on Instagram that she is relishing time to relax after a hectic year,

“I am really actually enjoying having time to just relax because since coming out of the villa I have been so busy that I’ve not had days like this.”

The model said she could never have been prepared for the impact of overnight celebrity when she emerged from the villa last year.

“Honestly nobody could prepare you for it. You could talk to people before going in but you’re not going to expect… when you come out it’s just crazy.

“Everybody knowing you, your social media, your inbox messages, people stopping you everywhere you go.

“You know those days where you might just look like absolute dogs**t but you’re going to meet people.

“You can’t just go down the street looking your absolute worst unless you’re comfortable with that because people are going to stop you and ask you for photographs.”

in the Instagram chat with Ann Summers CEO, she also opened up about tiring of having to wear a bikini constantly in the villa during her Love island stint.

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“Like everyone some days I feel bloated and sluggish and in there it’s quite hard because you’re in a bikini all the time and some days me and the girls were like ‘Oh I just don’t want to wear bikini today I don’t feel up for it’.”

But she said she still has to pinch herself after becoming a cover girl for the underwear brand.

“Bringing out my own swimwear collection has been a dream come true for me.

“I actually pinch myself and think, ‘is this actually real?’

“Even seeing my picture on the little Ann Summers cards is just insane and my face on the windows is just crazy.

“It’s absolutely crazy and I just loved every single minute of it.”

She also refreshingly made the point that Instagram photographs do not reflect reality.

“Instagram is not real life. We have all these tools and filters, the whole shebang.

“The younger girls looking at these influencers and models (should) just remember that nobody is perfect.

“We are all women, we all have stretch marks we all have cellulite, it can be airbrushed away and just remember that.”

She also cautioned that social media trolls should be aware that celebrities are human beings when they are castigated over their looks.

“I can’t understand how someone can get up in the morning and slate somebody on social media about their looks, about their body.

“Especially actually being in the public eye, I think people forget that you’re human.

“People think celebrities can take all this abuse. We all have feelings and we’re all different. It is awful really.

“Then you look at the amount of times people say ‘be kind’ and they say it for two weeks and then it’s like all forgotten about and the body shaming and the abuse all start up again.”

The model said people are often unaware of the private struggles of people being abused online.

“Everyone has problems and they could be going through a heartbreak at the moment and then you’re jumping into somebody’s DMs and sending that person abuse but you don’t know what that person is going through.

“They could have mental health problems. I just think people don’t think before they do it.”