Maya Jama and Stormzy have ended their rekindled relationship after a year, the Love Island presenter has confirmed.
The 29-year-old celebrity and the 30-year-old rapper officially reunited, announcing their relationship during a romantic getaway in Greece in August 2023.
Jama announced on Instagram on Wednesday that they had parted ways once again, admitting that they had spent the past year trying to “work things out.”
The post began: “We laugh as we write this because never, ever in a million years did we think we would be a couple announcing our separation, but in the interest of clarity and more importantly, the space and grace we both need to navigate this next chapter of our lives in peace, we felt it might be for the best.”
“We fell madly in love in 2014, broke up in 2019, and then spent five years living our lives apart.
“We decided to try one last time in August 2023 and spent the last year trying our best to achieve this; however, we have recently decided to quit,” the statement said.
“When we first met, we were 21 and 20, both early in our careers, and we had grown together for five years, then grown apart for five years, so this latest venture involved a lot of unlearning, relearning, and unlearning. We tried it and it didn’t work, and that’s okay.
“We still love each other very much, we still care and respect each other, we’re grateful for the time we spent together and we’re still friends and always will be (so if you see us having a quick chat at The Brits or somewhere else, don’t make a fuss, we’re good mates!).
“It feels very dramatic to announce this, but we are doing this to eliminate drama and avoid speculation and rumors. We kindly request that we both just let it go and not get involved with it (we highly doubt this will work, but we kindly request 0).”
“We love you and thank you for all the love you’ve shown us, it’s been amazing! Mike & MJ x,” she concluded.
The couple, who first went public with their romance in 2016, were together for five years before splitting in 2019.
The split comes just a week after they appeared together at the British Grand Prix, where Jama supported Stormzy during his headline performance at the event.
They were seen exchanging loving glances at Glastonbury a few days ago, while the presenter was seen supporting her at his new bar in Soho.
When the couple first split in 2019, Stormzy raised hopes among fans that they would rekindle their relationship, saying: “I’ve never loved anyone the way she does.”
However, Jama has previously spoken about how their relationship began, stating that at the time, “nobody” cared, so they didn’t feel like a celebrity couple.
She said: “I never felt like a celebrity couple. Everyone acted like it. We just had a normal relationship. And then everyone just talked about it.
“We met when we were in our 20s, when no one cared about us yet. It was a normal relationship at the time. Basically, I always said it was like a normal relationship, but people wanted to look at it more and talk about it more.”
In 2019, Jama’s representatives confirmed the couple were no longer alive, saying at the time: “I can confirm that the relationship has ended and Maya has split from Stormzy.”
During their four-year separation, she moved on by getting engaged to NBA star Ben Simmons in December 2021 after a seven-month relationship. However, they parted ways in August 2022, citing their busy work schedules as the reason. She was even linked to actor Leonardo DiCaprio, but denied the reports on her social media last April, telling fans to “move on.”
Speculation that the pair were rekindling their relationship began after they were seen performing together at the All Points East festival in East London during the August bank holiday.
A week later, eagle-eyed fans put their investigative skills to work when they noticed that the backgrounds of each of their holiday photos had a striking similarity and that they were actually holidaying together at the same villa in Hydra, Greece. Shortly after, paparazzi snapped photos of the two holding hands on their not-so-secret vacation.
The couple confirmed their relationship last October after months of rumours, when Jama shared an adorable Instagram story of Stormzy picking her up from the airport after she wrapped filming for Love Island spin-off series Love Island Games.
The following month, they made their first public appearance together, attending British Vogue’s Forces for Change party.