MAYA Jama and Stormzy have split “for the final time” after she insisted she is not ready to settle down, friends say.
The Love Island host, 29, and rapper, 30, announced their separation in a joint statement yesterday.
A source said: “They are at totally different places in their lives. He wants to settle down but Maya wants to focus on her career.”
The rapper, real name Michael Owuo, and Love Island host said: “We tried, and it didn’t work, and that’s okay.”
And a source close to the couple told The Sun: “Maya wants to go out and be a social butterfly but he’s a homebody these days and isn’t keen on going out at all.
“Michael wants to settle down whereas Maya doesn’t want to do that yet — she wants to focus on her career.
“Michael loves the fact she is ambitious and thought they could make it work, but they respect each other too much to force the other to do something before they are ready.
“They ultimately broke up so they wouldn’t waste each other’s time.
“They are at totally different places in their lives. Both have tried to compromise but a lot has changed since they started dating ten years ago and their lifestyles are just not compatible.”
The couple decided to privately end their romance last week — confirming it in an Instagram statement yesterday morning.
Maya has now flown to Ibiza on a trip with her closest friends who are rallying around her.
In the message — believed to have been written by Maya but signed and posted by them both — they said: “We still think the absolute world of each other, we still care and respect each other, we are still grateful for the time we’ve had together, and we are still friends and will always be friends.”
Speaking about their on/off relationship, they explained: “We fell madly in love in 2014, broke up in 2019, and then spent five years manoeuvring life apart.
“We decided to try for the final time in August 2023, and we’ve spent this past year trying our best to make it work; however, we recently decided to call it quits.
“We were 21 and 20 when we first met — both at the beginning of our careers — and spent five years growing together and then five years growing separately, so this final attempt required a whole lot of figuring out, relearning, and unlearning. We tried, and it didn’t work, and that’s okay.
“Love you guys and thank you for all the love you’ve showered us with, it’s been beautiful!”
Our source added: “It came as a shock to some of their mates because Maya has been helping Michael work on his new record.
“They told their wider circle this morning because Maya wanted to give everyone a heads-up before they made the statement.”
The couple were last pictured together on July 5 at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, having spent the previous weekend at Glastonbury.
Last year, during an interview with Louis Theroux, Stormzy admitted he had bought himself a huge seven-bedroom home to raise a family in.
In October, he wrote: “My three aspirations in life since I turned 30 is to just be a better man of God, to hopefully become a dad one day and to serve others.”
He also sang about wanting children with Maya on his 2019 song Lessons, where he opened up about his regret over their split.
At the time, he rapped: “We was even meant to share a seed and let it grow in you. I can’t even look you in the eye, that’s ’cause of shame.”
Bristol-born Maya called time on the romance ahead of her 30th birthday on August 14.
A source close to the presenter said: “Maya is at a crossroads with her birthday weeks away and has been getting more aware of how time is passing.
“She wants to have fun and make the most of work whilst she can.
Maya is at a crossroads with her birthday weeks away and has been getting more aware of how time is passing
A source
“She feels like it’s taken her years to reach this point and has so much she still wants to achieve.”
She was filming Love Island in Majorca on Monday then next day headed to Ibiza.
2016 – Stormzy and Maya Jama first got together when she was 20 and the couple quickly won over the hearts of the public.
2018 – The couple moved in together in southwest London with the dog they shared, Enzo.
2019 – They announced their split after a four year romance.
2021 – Maya meets and gets engaged to basketball player Ben Simmons.
July, 2022 – Maya calls off her engagement.
November, 2022 – Maya and Stormzy kissed at the MTV VMAs in Dusseldorf, Germany.
May, 2023 – The Sun revealed how Maya had been visiting Stormzy at his London home.
August, 2023 – Maya and Stormzy confirmed their relationship was back on when they were spotted strolling hand-in-hand on holiday.
December, 2023 – Maya goes Instagram official again with her man.
July, 2024 – Maya and Stormzy announce their split
Sources on set said the news has shocked them as Maya had been “business as usual”.
She is in a luxury villa with her closest friends including stylist Rhea Francois and hairdresser Joseph O’Kelly.
Meanwhile, Stormzy was last night due on stage for a performance at Gurtenfestival in Switzerland.
His mum Abigail was understood to be upset as she had grown close to Maya over the past decade.
A separate source said: “His mum really loves Maya and thinks she’s The One but they realised they were on different pages at counselling.
“They started going when they got reconciled and realised that petty arguments were really about the fact that they were on separate paths.”
But there were early signs that all was not well. Stormzy had declared his intention to spend time with Maya in Majorca as she filmed for the ITV2 show, but never came good on the promise.
And she flew directly from their loved-up couples shoot for Louis Vuitton in Paris to work, but left him behind.
On last year’s All Stars version of Love Island, Maya opened up about her own recoupling, when she invited Stormzy to the finale in South Africa.
She told two castmates who once dated: “I can relate, I had a lot of people saying I should get back with my ex, and sometimes it’s just not what you’re ready for.
“He’s over there — so it worked out in the end.”
And chatting to The Sun at the Love Island villa this May, she said rekindling her love with Stormzy helped her understand the Islanders, many who are a similar age to her.
After their original split, she was briefly engaged to Aussie basketball player Ben Simmons, and had a fling with actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
