WHILE both firmly deny there is any beef between them, it’s an open secret in showbiz circles that there's no love lost between Olivia Attwood and Maura Higgins.
Now The Sun can reveal the real reason for their explosive fallout - with sources close to Olivia revealing why the Love Island legend sees her rival as 'beggy', and why she feels 'vindicated' after Maura's controversial kiss with married McFly frontman Danny Jones was exposed.
A friend of Olivia’s tells us: “Olivia and Maura have never been friends, so Maura’s actions are of no relevance to Olivia and she has better things to focus on than being caught up in others' poor decisions.”
Meanwhile a source close to Maura's camp tells us: "Maura didn't initially have a real gripe with Olivia - it came more from Olivia's side at first. But she was bemused by some of the things that have been cryptically said that have obviously been about her.
"At one point she respected Olivia but that ship has sailed. She was fuming that Olivia publicly commented on the kiss as she doesn't believe it has anything to do with her."
Eyebrows were certainly raised on Sunday when a You Magazine cover interview with Olivia hit the shelves and she made her stance clear on what she thought of Maura’s infamous smooch with the McFly star Danny Jones at the Brits.
Commenting on the situation Olivia said: "It’s not nice for the other party, is it? As much as we all love salacious gossip, there is a wife and child on the other end of that.”
Why she spoke out
Olivia's friend explains the real reason she weighed in on the scandal.
“For her cover interview, Olivia was asked about the Brits incident with Maura and Danny directly, so she simply answered honestly, reflecting what most people feel - that this is an unpleasant situation for Danny’s wife.
“Her team were a bit nervous as they were aware that Olivia passing comment would fan the rumour mill about her feud with Maura, but at the end of the day, Olivia is a straight shooter and says what she thinks.
“Her fans love her no-BS attitude, so she wasn’t going to avoid answering the question and give some bland ‘no comment’ type response. She’d rather not give the situation airtime, but since she keeps being dragged into it, she’ll be honest.”
The wife of love-row McFly star Danny Jones is back in the family home after giving him a second chance
While Olivia is pals with lots of the other girls who have graced the Love Island villa over the years, including those who were not on her series, The Sun has learnt that she has always had reservations about Maura.
“Maura’s antics with Danny is exactly the kind of behaviour that has made Olivia historically wary of Maura. She just wouldn’t trust her enough to ever be friends with her.
“While Olivia took no pleasure in what happened between Danny and Maura, as there was a family involved, she did feel somewhat vindicated because she felt it justified what she has said behind closed doors about Maura for years.
"She thinks Maura is ruthless and a bit of a social climber. She doesn’t vibe with girls like that.”
Different circles
Last weekend, Maura was at the Coachella festival in Palm Springs, California, where she shared a snap alongside Kylie Jenner and Hailey Bieber.
She tagged the A-listers in the photos and wrote: '"Does this mean we're besties now?"
But another insider informs us that's just the kind of behaviour that doesn’t fly with Olivia.
“That totally makes Olivia cringe,” says a well-informed source.
“She sees it as ‘beggy’ and attention-seeking. Latching on to stars who are bigger than her convinces Olivia that Maura uses people for clout. Olivia finds it all a bit naff and it just winds her up.
“At the end of the day, Olivia and Maura move in really different circles. Olivia is still mates with people from way before she found fame who keep her down to earth, whereas Maura has a small team of people who work for her that she now counts as her close inner circle, and they constantly blow smoke up her a***.
“She doesn’t have many ‘normal’ people in her life that keep her grounded and it’s thought Maura has delusions that she is more of a high-end celebrity than she actually is.
“Olivia finds it all quite amusing as she’s the one with the acclaimed documentary series and top ranking podcasts. She sees Maura as more of an influencer than anything else.”
Cryptic swipe
Of course, Olivia’s most recent comments aren’t the first time she's made it clear she has no time for Maura.
In November, when Maura was starring on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! - a show Olivia became the first Love Islander to appear on two years before - Olivia shared a cryptic post on social media.
"One day I'm going to write a book and some of the stuff I have managed to keep [zipped mouth emoji] on over the years,” she fumed.
"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 blah, but it will NEVER taste the same. That's all."
It came as it emerged Maura had also signed up with the same UK PR agency that represented Olivia at that time.
Jumping ship
Interestingly, when Olivia learned that Maura was on the same books as her, she quickly changed reps and is now represented by Align PR, who look after big name American stars such as Madonna, Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato.
“Olivia didn’t have an issue with the agency but she got some work opportunities in the US, so when Maura joined them, it made sense for her to move on. She doesn’t need to compete with Maura for work.”
One thing that hasn’t helped matters is Olivia’s close friendship with Pete Wicks, who famously dated Maura at the end of last year and presents a Kiss radio show with Olivia.
Maura and Pete split in February and Maura insinuated the Strictly star had been unfaithful.
Leaving celeb eaterie Sheesh soon after the split she was asked about Pete’s whereabouts by a waiting snapper, only to reply: “Dunno, probably cheating.”
Olivia first started as a Monster grid girl at motorsport events in 2012 when she was 19-years-old, and did it right up until she went into Love Island in 2017.
After placing third in the reality show with then-boyfriend Chris Hughes, she starred in their own spin-off series, Chris & Olivia: Crackin' On, in 2018.
Later that year, she appeared on Celebs Go Dating and then joined the cast of The Only Way Is Essex in 2019, where she had a number of fiery on-screen rows.
In 2020, the reality TV veteran began starring in her own reality series on ITVBe titled Olivia Meets Her Match, which followed her wedding preparations with footballer Bradley Dack.
In 2021, the tide started to turn.
Olivia made appearances on household shows Lorraine, Tipping Point: Lucky Stars and Loose Women.
Then, in 2022, ITV commissioned her for her first ever documentary series.
She presented Olivia Attwood: Getting Filthy Rich, which explored women selling sexual content online.
In June 2023, ITV commissioned Olivia Marries Her Match and made her a regular guest panellist on Loose Women.
Her most recent docu-series, Olivia Attwood: The Price of Perfection, aired in January this year where she sensitively explored the cosmetic industry.
This didn’t sit well with Olivia, who then made a joke on the Brits red carpet that Pete was ‘cheating’ on his best pal Sam Thompson by attending with her.
She then set the record straight on social media, saying: "Cheating's not funny. Pete didn't cheat. That is the joke. Hope that helps."
Friends come first
Our insider explains that Olivia’s statement sums up her morals.
“She’s a fiercely loyal person who will protect her friends to the end,” the pal says.
“She doesn’t want to keep getting dragged into the situation and she knows that saying what she said will perpetuate that, but at the end of the day, she won’t stand by and see Pete getting dragged down publicly.
“She thinks Maura had a real cheek suggested Pete was unfaithful, only for her to then get caught kissing a married man.”
That said, we understand Olivia is keen to move past this whole saga.
“She’ll never be mates with Maura, but she’s also fed up with being dragged into the situation, so doesn’t plan to say anything else publicly about it.
“Olivia is very much a girl’s girl so any talk of feuds isn’t something she wants to be associated with as she is genuinely too busy to be trading blows with anyone.
"She doesn’t regret what she’s said about Maura and she stands by it, but she now just wants to draw a line under it and move on.”
