Maya Jama and Stormzy’s relationship timeline as they confirm they’ve split for good

The UK’s favourite showbiz couple have parted ways – but here’s a deeper look into their timeline.

Love Island host Maya Jama and rapper Stormzy have announced the news that they have broken up. Fans have been left devastated at the sad news after thinking they would go all the way.

On July 17, the pair delivered a joint statement on Instagram signed off by “Mike and MJ” which shook fans all over the world. Maya posted the long explanation on her Instagram Story.

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However, before we look further into their recent breakup, here’s a timeline of their relationship…

First meeting

When Maya was 20 she locked eyes with a budding 21-year-old Stormzy at a Red Bull Culture Clash bash in October 2014. Both were on the cusp of fame, their stars yet to rise in the celeb sky.

Maya was smitten from the get-go, later spilling the beans that she “fancied him from the start”. But, playing it cool, they hung out as mates for a solid three months before things heated up.

Spilling the tea in a Vogue chinwag, Maya dished: “You know, if I’m really honest, I knew I fancied him from the start. But I didn’t want anything yet, because you know, you’re trying to do the whole friend situation at first. And then I’d do, like, obvious hints that I fancied him and then take it back because I didn’t know if he definitely liked me. It was a childish phase. Then one day we just kissed and that was that! “.

Making it official

In January 2015, Maya and Stormzy aka Michael Omari Owuo Jnr officially paired up, and despite the dizzying heights of stardom that awaited them, Maya reckoned they kept things pretty grounded. Chatting to The Sunday Times, she reminisced: “We were so young when we met, just beginning our careers. I was just starting at MTV. He’d not even released a single at that point. We were just little babies.”

As their careers soared, they quickly became the ultimate ‘couple goals’ and one of the UK’s most formidable power duos. Their romance was so strong that Stormzy even dedicated tracks like Birthday Girl to Maya, with the TV presenter featuring in the music video for his smash 2017 track, Big For Your Boots.

Proposal hints

Living together in their London pad, Stormzy confessed he was all set to level up his commitment to Maya and dropped hints about an impending proposal. Despite being just 24 at the time, the rapper couldn’t fathom life without Maya by his side.

Chatting to the Mirror back in 2017, he gushed: “I’m still so young but I want to propose, it’s going to happen and I will do it right. She is so sick, she is the best.”

Earlier that same year, Maya had a laugh suggesting she’d be tying the knot with the grime sensation during a bit for the online show First Heat. Yet, she was also getting fed up with the tag ‘Stormzy’s girlfriend’, feeling it piled on the pressure in their love story.

Cheating allegations

In 2019, the romance between Stormzy and Maya Jama hit the rocks amid whispers of cheating, sending shockwaves through the world of showbiz when their four-year love story came crashing down. Rumours flew that Stormzy had played away from home with songstress Jorja Smith.

But Stormzy wasn’t having any of it – he clapped back at the gossip mongers pronto, rubbishing the speculation as exactly that – speculate, and insisting he’d remained true to Maya.

Within days of hearts breaking everywhere, Maya’s team dropped the bombshell that the couple had decided to part ways: “Maya has moved out of their home in South West London. The decision isn’t one she has come to lightly, but ultimately the relationship has come to an end. She wants to focus on her TV and radio career for now.”

Lyrical liability

Stormzy dropped some truth bombs about his breakup in his bangin’ 2019 album Heavy is The Head, with his track Lessons serving a slice of real talk about his relationship drama with Maya. He came clean in his lyrics saying he’d ‘done the dirt’ but shut down any cheating rumours, even though he called out his own “disrespectful” antics after they split.

While he’s always slammed the cheat chats, he copped to acting up post-breakup: “We’d broken up and I went out and I acted disrespectfully. I was just out in clubs. I knew the world still thought I was in a relationship and I was out looking like I didn’t give a f**k. It didn’t need to be cheating for it to be a disrespect.”

Future focus

Despite having called it quits, Stormzy made it clear he’s still mad about Maya and even saw wedding bells in their future. In a heart-to-heart with radio king Charlamagne in 2020, he confessed: “I love her wholeheartedly. I’ve never loved anyone how I’ve loved her.”

He poured his heart out, confessing: “I would love to be the man who she needs, I would love to do all the things that make this work. I want to marry her, I want to have her children.”

Maya’s next

Stormzy could only watch as his ex, Maya Jama, got cosy with Aussie basketball hunk Ben Simmons, Kendall Jenner’s ex-flame. The lovebirds made headlines with a smooch at Wimbledon in July 2021, and by October, Ben had swept Maya off her feet with a proposal after just eight months of dating.

However, their engagement wasn’t one for the fairy tales, as they decided to go their separate ways in September 2022, putting Maya back on the market. Despite whispers that Ben wanted his £800,000 sparkler back, Maya slammed those claims as “false accusations”.

Reminiscing and regret

Even two years after they called it quits, Stormzy opened up to GQ about how the breakup with Maya still haunts him. He admitted to the mag: “I’d never experienced a break-up and the feelings that come with a break-up.”

“And I never wanted to ever be in a position again where I felt what I was feeling. Because it showed me that I was a boy. And I do not want to go any further as a boy. I’ve seen how that manifests in other people and I don’t want to be like that.”

In a separate interview with Louis Theroux, Stormzy blamed himself for the split and said: “My break-up was probably the biggest catalyst for my growth as a man. It was like, ‘OK, you made a mistake and you lose someone you loved, someone you cared for, someone who is special to you. That’s probably the biggest loss a man can have, isn’t it? Away from someone passing away, that’s the biggest loss you can have.”

Back on

In August last year, she was spotted cheering on the Vossi Bop rapper at his massive gig in London’s Victoria Park.

Eagle-eyed fans then spotted the pair jetting off on holiday together to Greece, with both sharing snaps from what appeared to be the same luxury resort, costing a cool £2,700 a night, which boasts its own personal chef, butler, private speedboats and a pool with its own terrace.

And while neither posted pics of each other, they were snapped holding hands and looking very much an item as they strolled down the street and enjoyed a romantic boat trip together.

The luxurious getaway is said to have been Stormzy’s “romantic” birthday gift to Love Island host Maya, who celebrated her 29th birthday earlier this month.

Stormzy is also said to have whisked Maya out to Greece on a private jet and brought her into the exclusive resort by helicopter in a bid to impress the TV presenter, who he plans on “treating like a queen” after their four-year split.

Break up

The pair announced their big break up on social media with a joint statement, which left fans devastated at the news.

They penned: “We’ve been laughing whilst drafting this because we never, ever, in a million years thought we’d be the couple announcing a breakup. But for the sake of clarity and, more importantly, to allow us the space and grace that’s needed for us both to be able to navigate this next bit of our lives with peace, we thought it might be best to.

“We fell madly in love in 2014, broke up in 2019, and then spent five years manoeuvring life apart. We decided to try for the final time in August 2023, and we’ve spent this past year trying our best to make it work; however, we recently decided to call it quits. We were 21 and 20 when we first met – both at the beginning of our careers – and spent five years growing together and then five years growing separately, so this final attempt required a whole lot of figuring out, relearning and unlearning. We tried and it didn’t work and that’s okay.”

“We decided to try for the final time in August 2023, and we’ve spent this past year trying our best to make it work; however, we recently decided to call it quits,” they said.

“We were 21 and 20 when we first met – both at the beginning of our careers – and spent five years growing together and then five years growing separately, so this final attempt required a whole lot of figuring out, relearning, and unlearning.”

“So this final attempt required a whole lot of figuring out, relearning, and We still think the absolute world of each other, we still care and respect each other, we are still grateful for the time we’ve had together, and we are still friends and will always be friends (so if you see us having a lil catch-up at The Brits or something, don’t cause a fuss, we are dawgs!).

“Love you guys and thank you for all the love you’ve showered us with, it’s been beautiful! Mike & M x”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk