Maura Higgins built her career on Love Island UK before becoming the emotional center of Season 4’s biggest twist on The Traitors, a runner-up finish that turned into one of the most talked-about betrayals in the show’s history.
Higgins was born November 25, 1990, in Ballymahon, County Longford, Ireland, and trained as a hairdresser before reality television changed the direction of her career entirely. Her path to stardom started thousands of miles from the Traitors castle, on a beach in Mallorca.
Long before any of that, she was working behind a salon chair in her hometown.
From a Longford Hair Salon to Reality TV
Higgins grew up in Ballymahon with two sisters, Becki and Louise, and a brother, Jamie. She attended Forgney National School and Ballymahon Vocational School before training as a hairdresser and working at a local salon, Halo Hair Design. She began modeling part-time from age 18, was a finalist in the 2012 Miss Sunday World pageant, and spent several years working as a promotional model for Monster Energy, including ring-girl appearances at boxing events such as Anthony Joshua’s 2018 fight against Alexander Povetkin.
Love Island and a Career Built Past the Villa
Higgins broke through internationally as a cast member on Love Island UK’s fifth series in 2019, coupling up with dancer Curtis Pritchard and finishing in fourth place at the final on July 29, 2019. She and Pritchard split roughly eight months later, citing conflicting work schedules, and Higgins has said she stays in touch with only a handful of her original villa castmates. The exposure built her a large following through her frank, confident personality on camera, and it carried well past the villa itself. She signed brand deals with Boohoo and Ann Summers, launching her own clothing collection with the former in 2019 and repeat lingerie collaborations with the latter in the years since. She went on to host Glow Up Ireland and Aftersun USA, joined ITV’s This Morning as a recurring agony aunt, competed on Dancing on Ice and Cooking with the Stars, and appeared on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! in 2024, building a presenting résumé that runs alongside her modeling and brand work across the UK and Ireland.
The Season’s Most Loyal Faithful
Higgins played the entire Season 4 game as a loyal Faithful, forming her closest bond of the season with fellow player Rob Rausch, whom she never once suspected. That trust carried all the way to the finale, where Higgins helped banish Eric Nam, who was also playing as a Traitor, under the belief that the ending would come down to a Faithful-versus-Faithful vote. Higgins and Rausch were the final two players, and Rausch took the full $220,800 prize.
Learning the Truth
Instead, Higgins learned in the final moments that Rob Rausch had been playing as a Traitor the entire season, undetected by her or anyone else close to him. She finished as runner-up, having helped eliminate the person who would have shared the win with her. Higgins took the reveal with visible humor rather than bitterness, and Rausch later gifted her a burgundy Hermès Birkin bag with gold accents, size 30, as a gesture of apology for the betrayal. At the reunion, host Andy Cohen asked Rausch directly whether he and Higgins might ever become a real-life couple; Rausch shut the idea down, though the two have said they remain friends.
A Victoria’s Secret Deal and Life After the Villa
Since the season aired, Higgins signed a six-figure deal with Victoria’s Secret in February 2026, a move into the American market that built on years of UK and Irish modeling work and was widely covered as one of the bigger post-show career jumps to come out of Season 4. In August 2026 Disney+ confirmed Higgins as host of its Blind Date reboot, with filming set for later in 2026. In September 2026 Peacock announced Higgins and Rob Rausch will co-host Get Me Out of Here, a new competition series set to premiere in 2027. She was also recognized repeatedly as one of the best-dressed cast members of the entire season. In interviews since, Higgins has said she isn’t interested in dating shows or new relationships for now, telling one outlet flatly that she wants to focus on work rather than a new romance.
Life Now
Between the Victoria’s Secret deal, an expanding presenting résumé, and a runner-up finish that made her one of the more sympathetic figures of the season, Higgins turned a very public betrayal into one of the bigger career moments of her post-Love Island career. More on how the rest of Season 4 played out, including Rausch’s win, is covered in OpenThreadNews’ Traitors Season 4 cast guide. Higgins is also competing in Dancing With the Stars Season 35 in fall 2026, paired with professional dancer Mark Ballas, who also appeared with her on Traitors Season 4. As of late October 2026 she was still in the competition, including a 35 out of 40 Paso Doble on Dedication Night in late October 2026.
