I was such a late bloomer – boys didn’t fancy me at school, says Love Island’s Maya Jama
MAYA Jama has opened up about life before she found fame – and revealed ‘boys didn’t fancy her’ at school.
The Love Island host revealed she was a far cry from the confident real-life bombshell she is today.
Maya, who has been hailed as the saviour of Love Island strutting in her incredible outfits, said instead of boys fancying her she would get racial abuse.
The star, who is of Somalian and Swedish descent, said: “I didn’t start my period until I was 16 and all my friends developed boobs before me.
“The older I get, the more accepting I am of how I look – this
is what you’ve got, make the most of it.”
She tells iNews: “Our bodies and faces are constantly chang-
ing as we get older. So, I’m adapting and
I’m evolving with it.”
Read more on Love Island
Maya learned the hard way to embrace her
her mixed-race heritage after getting stick during her school days in Bristol.
She explained. “I told people I was from
a different place,” she remembers.
“The teachers knew where I was from and
they called my mum to tell her.
“When she and my aunties from the
Somali side of the family asked me why,
I was just like: ‘The boys were saying
horrible things about it,’ but after hav-
ing a proper chat with them I realised
it’s something to be proud of.
I went back to school all guns blazing like:
‘This is me and this is where I’m from.’
“All the stuff that anybody could ever
try and hold against me, I shout it loud
and proud from my chest. Then no one
can say anything, can they?”
Meanwhile Love Island fans went wild for Maya’s arrival, which had been jeopardised by a huge storm, risking her grand entrance.
Yet she issued a stern warning as she stepped foot in the villa – admitting finding a partner is “never that simple.”
Maya could have been referencing her rollercoaster relationship with rapper Stormzy, who she recently rekindled her relationship with.
The Sun revealed Maya would replace Laura Whitmore as host last year.
It came after Celebrity Juice team captain Laura, 37, told how she was leaving the high profile presenter role after three series.
