Tensions are said to be running high between former Love Island stars Olivia Attwood and Maura Higgins, with sources claiming Olivia believes Maura has repeatedly followed her career path.
Olivia, 34, is reportedly particularly sensitive to the situation following her recent split from footballer husband Bradley Dack.
Friends say she has privately vented her frustration about what she sees as Maura stepping into the same professional spaces, with similarities now becoming difficult to ignore.
The latest alleged incident came after Maura, 35, who is currently appearing on the US version of The Traitors, shared an Instagram photo with Parisian fashion influencer Michael Coste. The post appeared just days after Olivia had shared a near-identical image with him.
A source told The Sun: ‘Olivia is obviously going through a lot at the moment and trying to piece her life back together, but she has been left bemused that Maura has continued to mirror her playbook. She even jokes with her friends that Maura is her stalker.
‘There is no love lost between them and they have become very skilled at ignoring each other on the red carpet and at parties. Olivia is just amazed that these things keep happening, although she knows that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.’
At the end of last month, it was reported that the ITV presenter, 34, who married Gillingham football player Bradley, 32, in 2023, had caled it quits on her marriage.
But last week, it was reported that, after 10 years together, they were separating after Olivia felt there had been a ‘breach of trust’ from her husband.
At the time, sources claimed neither Olivia nor Bradley would be speaking publicly on their divorce, saying their friends and family were ‘aware’ of the situation.
Taking to her Instagram Story at the end of Janurary, she shared a photo of stacks of boxes inside her new place, having already moved out of her marital home.
‘I keep opening instagram to post but I don’t know what to say or do ? lol’, she began.
Olivia added that ‘vulnerability is not [her] bag’, and being open on social media in particular feels akin to ‘bleeding in shark-infested waters.’
‘I cry myself to sleep, then business as normal when the alarm goes off at 5am and it has been like that for a long time,’ she continued.
Now, as she deals with the tumultuous divorce, it seems Olivia is growing tired of what she believes is Maura’s tendency to ride her coattails.
Olivia first appeared on Love Island in 2017, two years before Maura, and sources claim she became irritated last year when Maura signed with PR agency Align, which specialises in developing careers in the US.
Olivia had been working with the agency first, after both women were previously represented by Dundas Communications.
An insider said the situation became awkward when they were put forward for similar opportunities. Olivia is said to have decided to move on after feeling the overlap was becoming uncomfortable.
Their professional similarities have continued, with both securing shoots for The Times and becoming regular fixtures on reality and daytime television.
Each has also appeared on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, while growing their profiles in the US.
Awkwardness reportedly peaked at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards in New York last November, where Olivia and Maura arrived wearing strikingly similar black dresses.
Another source of tension is said to be Pete Wicks, who previously dated Maura in 2024, the same year he competed on Strictly Come Dancing. Their relationship ended after six months, with Maura later suggesting he had ‘probably cheated.’
Following their split, Pete announced a new Kiss FM radio show, The Sunday Roast, co-hosted with Olivia. Sources claim Maura was unhappy about his friendship with Olivia and questioned his decision to work with her.
A source told the Sun: ‘Pete didn’t help the situation with Maura and Olivia, as Maura wasn’t happy with their friendship.
‘She asked him if he really had to do the radio show with Olivia, as she felt his loyalties should lie with her.
‘The whole situation left her feeling uneasy.’
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