Olivia Attwood and Maura Higgins Rivalry Explodes!

There's nothing more galling than seeing your arch-rival leapfrog you, becoming even more successful than you are.

Except, perhaps, seeing them do it twice.

And this looks precisely what is about to happen to Olivia Attwood, the ex Love Island star who, since appearing on the show, has painstakingly carved out her own television career.

It's no exaggeration to say that Olivia, 34, is highly ambitious and, of all the ex contestants, very much sees herself as the Love Island queen.

However, it looks as if her nemesis, Irish beauty Maura Higgins, is about to give her ego a true body blow.

Maura starred on Love Island two years after Olivia in 2019. And not only has she - unlike Olivia - broken into the highly competitive American TV world, after presenting the US version of Love Island and now currently appearing in its Celebrity Traitors series, it also looks like Maura, 35, is now very well-placed to seize Olivia's dream TV role. And that is of Love Island host itself.

It's no secret among TV insiders that the current Love Island host Maya Jama is tipped to stand down from her role as host of the ITV2 dating show. Privately educated Olivia, say friends, would love nothing more than to step into her shoes when she does leave.

However, sources at ITV tell me bosses would favour Maura, not least because of her huge success on American Traitors.

Olivia and Maura first met back in 2016 when they worked as Monster Energy girls - an agency for promotional purposes at sporting events

My source reveals: 'Olivia has always wanted to present Love Island and while bosses told her she had a chance of being a possible replacement for Maya, they have started to favour Maura. 

'Maya, of course, has yet to announce anything but she has been hosting for four years now and word is she has so many offers coming in, there are some she won't be able to turn down.

'Maura also had two successful stints presenting the US Love Island spin-off show and they wanted her back for a third series, but she had to pull out of the presenting role last year as it clashed with filming for The Traitors. The momentum is really behind her career.'

And there could be no clearer visual sign of this than the stunning appearance Maura made last month on the red carpet at the Golden Globes, dressed in an off-the-shoulder black gown with dramatic gold shawl.

Olivia, meanwhile, is yet to sign a television deal with anyone but ITV - never mind outside Britain.

'It's fair to say that the whole situation has left Olivia seething,' my source says. 'Olivia always believed that she was being lined up to replace Maya, it's one of the biggest jobs in TV and Olivia sees it as hers.'

It's even more galling for Olivia - who friends tell me 'cannot stand' Maura and that 'everyone at ITV knows exactly how she feels about her' - because for a time, she appeared to be the one who was more successful of the pair, who both began their careers together working for a promotional drinks company.

Add to this the fact that both women have been romantically linked to Strictly star Pete Wicks, and you can begin to see why Olivia is so aggrieved.

Indeed, everywhere Olivia seems to tread, Maura has either done it, or follows her more successfully, much to her chagrin.

Olivia Attwood is yet to sign a television deal with anyone but ITV - never mind outside Britain

Take last year, when Maura joined I'm A Celeb to much fanfare. She was then dating Pete Wicks, a relationship which had attracted many headlines, especially because he was then starring on Strictly. Millions tuned in just for her late entrance to the competition, alongside Rev Richard Coles.

For Olivia, it was all too much to bear. Three years before she had been forced to quit the jungle after just a few days when she collapsed - a problem she later said was caused by her low iron levels. 

She was devastated her time on screen had been cut short - and believes Maura's later move into the jungle was further evidence that she was just 'copying' her career.

Even more devastatingly for Olivia, Maura's lauded stint in the jungle - she was sixth to leave - turned out to be just the shot in the arm her profile needed.

'Following Maura's successful stint on I'm A Celebrity, Olivia heard whispers that bosses now favoured her arch enemy. So you can imagine how that went down,' I'm told.

'Her career has gone from strength to strength while Olivia's popularity is waning.'

Olivia and Maura first met back in 2016 when they worked as Monster Energy girls - an agency for promotional purposes at sporting events. With both having equal amount of glamour and ambition, a dangerous combination, they 'didn't exactly hit it off,' say sources close to the pair.

Just a year later Olivia went 1-0 up when she won a place in the Love Island villa and began dating her co-star Chris Hughes. They came third, but were widely viewed to have won public hearts and so were later given their own reality show, Chris And Olivia: Crackin' On. They split just months after the three-part series.

Meanwhile, Maura, who was born in Ballymahon, County Longford, was still working for Monster Energy, and looked to have been left far behind.

Then in 2019, Maura followed her foe into the Spanish villa and became an instant favourite after hooking up with Curtis Pritchard, the younger brother of former Strictly professional AJ Pritchard. The couple made it to the final before splitting in March 2020.

The feud between Maura and Olivia - an open secret in the reality TV world - became public knowledge in November 2024 after Olivia became so enraged by Maura's appearance in the jungle, that she took to social media to vent her anger.

Maura became an instant favourite in the Spanish villa after hooking up with Curtis Pritchard, the younger brother of former Strictly professional AJ Pritchard

In a post she said: 'One day I'm going to write a book and some of the stuff I have managed to keep [zip emoji] on over the years. It will blow your f***ing mind.

'You can try to hire all the same people, regurgitate my stories as your own, study the playbook, follow the recipe blah blah but it will never taste the same. That's all.'

And in an interview with the Daily Mail at the beginning of last year, Olivia spoke for the first time about their rivalry, declaring: 'No one can outwork me… They can try but they won't succeed.'

Maura, however, appears to have proved her well and truly wrong.

ITV had hoped to mould Olivia into their next Holly Willoughby after the host stood down from This Morning in October 2022.

She stood in as a presenter on the daytime show last summer and has had a series of reality shows on the channel including Olivia Attwood: Getting Filthy Rich and Olivia Attwood's Bad Boyfriends.

Things looked positive - until Pete Wicks entered Olivia's orbit and tainted her 'girl next door' public image.

This is something, say friends of Maura, who had an acrimonious split from Wicks in 2024, which is all too pleasing.

'Maura has always maintained a dignified silence and is quite baffled by Olivia's hatred of her,' I'm told. 'So it's quite fitting it's Olivia's involvement with Maura's ex that has seen her life start to unravel. Sometimes the sweetest revenge happens when you do nothing at all.'

For today, Pete is at the centre of Olivia's recent split from her husband of two years, the League Two footballer Bradley Dack.

Attwood stood in as a host on This Morning last summer and has had a series of reality shows on ITV including Olivia Attwood: Getting Filthy Rich and Olivia Attwood's Bad Boyfriends

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In a carefully worded story briefed to The Sun two weeks ago, friends of Olivia's insisted that Bradley had been in the wrong and had forced her to end her marriage. Olivia's new publicist told a reporter that Bradley had 'crossed a line', albeit an unspecified one.

There was no mention of Pete, who is Olivia's co-star on Kiss FM radio, in the story.

However, last summer their very close friendship was revealed when they were seen cuddling up during a work trip to Ibiza. This is said to have been 'a major factor' in her forthcoming divorce.

It seems both Olivia and Pete were so desperate to ensure that their close relationship was not considered to be a factor in her split from Bradley that they created a carefully orchestrated PR strategy in an attempt to stop any negative ramifications.

But it had the opposite effect - all anyone could talk of was how mean Olivia was to have thrown her husband under the bus. ITV bosses, I was told, weren't impressed by the public stain on someone they were hoping to be their new 'golden girl'.

It was a brutal error for her, given that she has more than one eye on replacing Maya on Love Island - and it just sticks in the craw more because Pete was once with Maura.

'Olivia is absolutely mesmerised by Pete,' says my source. 'You only have to look at those pictures, she adores him. It must be riling for her that he used to date Maura, who is her arch nemesis.

'It's typical that when Olivia finds someone that she might have a future with, in his back catalogue is Maura. It's like she can't get away from her after all of these years.

'She adores Pete and loves spending time with him. It is very irritating for her that he was once with Maura.'

Back to Love Island and who will win the battle to be its host - and I'm assured that it is going to 'get vicious.'

'You haven't seen anything yet,' says one insider. 'If Maura gets it, Olivia will be fuming.'