Maya Jama didn't tell her mum she was the new 'Love Island' presenter for fear of the secret coming out.
Maya Jama didn't tell her mum about landing the Love Island job
The 28-year-old star will host the ninth series of the ITV2 dating show, after taking over from Laura Whitmore in the role, but she decided against telling close family about her new position because she didn't want it to be revealed prematurely.
Asked if it was hard keeping it a secret, she said: "Really hard, especially when there’s loads of rumours flying around.
"I’m not a good liar. Even my mum I didn’t tell because she’d get too excited and tell people. So I had to not even tell my close family."
Maya was in New York when she found out the news and admits she "swore loads".
The star has since celebrated her new job on several occasions, and plans to do so even more celebrating when the upcoming South Africa series is complete.
She said: "I celebrated with different people each time. I celebrated with who I was around when I found out, then I celebrated when I got back to London.
"I feel like I’ll celebrate more after it’s done, then we can be like, ‘Yay we did it!’ rather than getting too excited before it’s happened."
Maya was confirmed as the new 'Love Island' presenter in October.
The show's official Instagram account shared a video of someone scrolling through headlines linking her to the role, only to reveal Maya herself with a signature 'Love Island' water bottle and suitcase.
The team wrote: "Okay, the rumours are true. Say hey to your brand-new #LoveIsland host @mayajama!"
She replied to the announcement: "SO BLOODY EXCITED! GET ME ON THAT ISLAND (sic)"
'Love Island' returns on Monday (16.01.23) on ITV2 and ITVX.
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