Entertainment
Looks like Maura Higgins is soft launching her relationship with Giovanni Pernice
We’re living for this new partnership (Picture: Rex)
Instagram girls have become pros in the art of the soft launch before going public with a partner.
A faceless man’s hand gripping a gearstick, a figure holding a pint in front of you, a zoom in on holding hands – all necessary posts before putting up a proper couple’s picture to drum up some interest and intrigue.
And it looks like Maura Higgins is the latest person to soft launch a relationship, as the Love Island star posted a picture of herself holding hands with a man – believed to be Giovanni Pernice.
The 30-year-old posted a snap to her Instagram stories, showing her perfectly manicured hand holding the hand of a man in a sharp navy suit, with his watch on display.
In the background, glasses of wine and the remains of a dessert could be seen on the table.
Now, no face could be seen, but it’s likely that this mystery man is Strictly Come Dancing professional Giovanni, also 30, who Maura has been pictured with in recent weeks.
Maura soft launched her new boyfriend (Picture: Instagram)
The pair first sparked romance rumours on June 26, when they both shared pictures from a similar viewpoint in Wembley Stadium as Italy played Austria in the Euros.
Maura was then spotted at the opening night of Gio’s dance tour, Him & Me, with Anton Du Beke in Blackpool, and the pair reportedly got close at the afterparty.
A source told The Sun: ‘They looked totally smitten with each other.
‘They were being very touchy-feely and had a smooch on the dancefloor.’
It was also claimed that Giovanni had fancied the Irish reality TV star for ages after meeting her at various showbiz events, but held off on texting her until she was single.
In May, Maura confirmed that she had split from fellow islander Chris Taylor after six months together.
Maura and Chris split up in May (Picture: Maura Higgins/Instagram)
She wrote on Instagram: ‘It breaks my heart to even type this. But I wanted to let everyone know that myself and Chris have made the joint decision to end our relationship.
‘There is no wrongdoing on either side… we still love, care & respect each other deeply. From the minute we met each other we’ve been very close friends and that will never change.
‘There is no regret. Life is about taking chances. We wanted to make this work but we have realised we work better being friends.
‘Whilst I appreciate people may speculate or create false stories, this is the truth. I wish Chris nothing but the best and I will always be one of his biggest supporters.’
More: Love Island
Prior to dating Chris, Maura was in a relationship with professional dancer Curtis Pritchard after leaving the Love Island villa – perhaps pro dancers are her type?
Meanwhile, Giovanni has had a number of romances on Strictly Come Dancing, having dated his partners Georgia May Foote and Ashley Roberts.
The Italian also had a romance with Towie star Jess Wright, and was linked to his 2020 dance partner Ranvir Singh but denied they were more than friends.
Metro.co.uk has contacted Higgins’ rep for comment.
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