Maura Higgins has reignited her feud with Olivia Attwood with yet another copycat career move, the Daily Mail can reveal.
The pair’s rift first surfaced last year during Maura’s stint in the I’m A Celeb jungle, where she claimed to have scrubbed a toilet with an ex-boyfriend’s toothbrush for revenge, a story she had previously linked to her breakup with Curtis Pritchard.
Sources revealed last November that Maura, 34, was seen as trying to follow a ‘similar script’ to boost her appeal, mirroring Olivia’s path after she signed up for Love Island in 2017 following her split from Bradley Dack after he was unfaithful.
The tension between the two further escalated when they were both signed to the same PR agency, Dundas, and the dynamic became awkward as they were lined up for similar jobs, prompting Olivia, who had worked with the agency first, to move on.
In a surprising turn, 10 months after Olivia, 34, joined a new public relations agency, Align, which specialises in growing careers in America, Maura has now followed suit, signing with the same company.
Sources say the relationship between the former Love Island stars has never been worse, with some confusion over how history has repeated itself less than a year after the initial PR fallout.
A source revealed: ‘There were so many incidents last year that led friends to believe Maura is trying to emulate Olivia’s career.
‘From Love Island to I’m A Celeb and signing with the same agencies, there have been numerous parallels, which started to create friction.
‘In the end, Olivia left PR firm Dundas, even though she had been signed with them before Maura joined, because she wanted space to build her brand without any overlap.
‘Everyone is a bit irked now that Maura has once again followed Olivia by signing with PR Align, months after Olivia became one of their clients.
‘Tensions are now at an all-time high… there are hundreds of PR firms, but Maura and her team have chosen the same one Olivia works with, for the second time.’
The TV stars share many career parallels, having both started out as ‘Monster Energy Girls’ before signing up for Love Island and then I’m A Celeb.
However, it was Olivia who appeared on both shows first, although she had to leave the jungle early on medical grounds.
The Daily Mail understands that Maura has chosen to sign with Align due to her growing work in the States, including her upcoming appearance on The Traitors US.
She also has an international following thanks to her hosting appearances on Love Island: The Games and her previous presenting role on the Love Island USA spinoff show Aftersun.
It is understood that signing with an American PR agency is central to her career as she looks to continue basing more of her work Stateside.
Olivia hinted at her annoyance towards Maura on Instagram last November, writing: ‘One day I’m going to write a book and some of the stuff I have managed to keep (zip emoji) on over the years. 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 but it will *never* taste the same. That’s all.’
Loose Women star Olivia, described as ITV’s ‘face of the future,’ found fame on Love Island in 2017, two years before Maura.
She became the first former Islander to be cast on I’m A Celeb in 2022, but was forced to leave the jungle after 24 hours due to medical reasons.
Meanwhile, Maura appeared in the jungle last year alongside campmates Danny Jones, Oti Mabuse, and Reverend Richard Coles.
Olivia hosts her own dating series, Bad Boyfriends, and continues to film her documentary series, which includes Getting Filthy Rich and The Price of Perfection.
Her podcast, So Wrong It’s Right, has featured guests such as Chelsea Handler, Frankie Bridge, and Jodie Kidd.
While Olivia has amassed a loyal following of 2.5 million Instagram followers, Maura surpasses her with 4 million.
Maura gained a huge global fanbase as the social host of Love Island US and its Aftersun programme.
The Daily Mail has contacted Maura and Olivia’s spokesperson for comment.
