Bristol-born Maya Jama has become something of a household name, taking over from Laura Whitmore as the host of Love Island in 2023, as well as presenting her own radio show on BBC Radio 1 for two years. And now, she is about to become a judge on ITV singing competition, The Masked Singer.
But while the 30-year-old was always ambitious, and admits she is not entirely surprised by her success, she has also had to overcome a huge amount of obstacles and trauma to get to where she is today.
Now, in a brand-new interview with The Guardian, Jama has reflected on her upbringing in Bristol, and joked about being the “class clown” at her performing arts school – as well as opening up about the tragic event that prompted her to leave the city.
Maya was born to Swedish-Scottish mother, Sadie, an aspiring actress, and a Somali father with whom she cut off contact at ten years old, as he spent years in and out of prison.
She grew up incredibly close to her mother, and the pair, along with Maya’s younger brother, Omar, moved in with her stepfather when Maya was seven years old.
Speaking about the adversity she faced, she told The Guardian: “It affects you one way or another. It can completely ruin your life and you never recover, or you get this weird sense of resilience, which makes you think, ‘F**k, I need to do everything I said I was going to do and achieve everything I can, because life can change any second.'”
Maya started her school life in Sweden, where Omar was born, but later returned to Bristol, where she attended a school specialising in performing arts.
She admitted: “I was the class clown, 100%. I was bottom set for everything. English, science and maths.”
However, Maya was not rebellious at school, adding: “I didn’t really rebel because I had a good, honest relationship with my mum, whereas my friends that had strict parents were sneaking out and hiding things.”
She took over as presenter of Love Island in 2023, from Laura Whitmore
(Image: Vince Valitutti/Peacock/ITV/Getty Images)
Maya confesses she was a tomboy at school until the age of 16, saying: “Nobody believes it unless they see the photos. I was a late bloomer. In terms of my femininity, I was a bit of a ragamuffin.
“I was always with the boys, I wore loads of loose clothing, didn’t have any boobs, wasn’t called sexy ever in my life. I was like, ‘Maya’s got a great personality, but she’s not hot’ throughout school. Then I developed, and it was like ‘Oh look, she’s saucy now!'”
As a young teen, Maya even auditioned for the teen TV drama, Skins, filmed and based entirely in Bristol.
She almost got the role, but said: “If I’m really honest with you I didn’t get it because I was too frigid to snog the boy properly. He was going to be my boyfriend in the show, and I was shy. I was just awkward, kissing someone on camera at that age. I was so awkward.”
It was not until the age of 16 that she experienced her first real life-changing love – and loss – when she met her first proper boyfriend, Rico Gordon, whom Maya calls her “first love”.
He was four years older than her, but the pair had an immediate bond, as Rico came from similar heritage, being half Swedish and half Jamaican.
The couple had only been dating for six months when Rico, who had aspirations to be a teacher, was caught in the crossfire of a shootout between rival gangs.
Maya explained: “There was an argument between two people he had nothing to do with. They started shooting at each other and he was down the road on the phone to me, and a bullet hit the floor and hit him.”
Rico was killed, and Maya moved away from Bristol the same day to go and stay with his family.
She said: “I don’t think you ever really get over something like that. You just learn to deal with it better. I don’t think you’re ever going to wake up if you lose someone you love and go, ‘I’m healed’. It’s more like with time it gets easier to process, easier to speak about, easier to deal with.”
And her five-year relationship with rapper Stormzy thrust the presenter into the public eye
(Image: Joseph Okpako/Getty Images)
It was then that Maya moved to London, a move she had already been planning in order to go to college and pursue a career in TV.
She said: “As much as so many horrible things were happening, I was also entering environments and situations that made me feel I was on the right track to getting somewhere in my career.
“So while I was living in that house, I was working at Urban Outfitters and in a dress shop, I was at college, and I was also helping out for free at this YouTube production company.”
During her lunch breaks, Maya would borrow a camera and head off to live events, blagging an interview whenever she could.
She explained: “I’d go, ‘Pleeeeease can I interview you, I’m trying to build up my YouTube channel.’ So there was craziness going on at home, but I was working so much I wasn’t really there, and I was so excited just to be in these environments. I’d be like, ‘Oh my God, there’s Wiley or so and so in the same room as me!'”
She added that when asked about her background, she would simply tell people that she came from Bristol, saying: “I don’t like people feeling sorry for me. I don’t like pity. It doesn’t make me feel comfortable.”
Looking to the future, Maya admits she can picture herself retiring from public life and having children one day.
She said: “I more want a family than just want children. Because of the way I was raised and it being all over the place, I’m very conscious that if I’m going to start a family I want it to be with the right person. I want it to be one that lasts for ever. But yeah, I do imagine myself with kids one day.”
She also added that she is on track, financially, to retire at the age of 40, if that’s what she wanted to do.
She said: “What I said to my financial advisers is: ‘Could I retire at 40, the way I’m going?’. And they said yes. Which is great. But I am the breadwinner of my family, so being the older sibling and being the one in this career, I pay everyone’s bills and I give everybody money, so it’s quite a responsibility.”
Maya’s latest role, as a new judge on The Masked Singer, will begin tonight (January 4) from 7pm on ITV1 and ITVX. To read her full interview with The Guardian, visit here.