Maura Higgins’ ex makes prediction after she meets his dad on I’m A Celebrity-Brooke Ivey Johnson-Entertainment – Metro

Maura Higgins’ ex-boyfriend has made a prediction about her relationship with his father, Barry McGuigan, on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!.

Shane McGuigan, 36, dated the former Love Island star, 34, six years ago before she found fame on the ITV2 dating show.

Shane appeared on Good Morning Britain this morning to say that he thinks the fact that both Maura and his father, 63, have small-town Irish roots could mean they get along well on the show.

He said: ‘Maura, as well, she’s an Irish girl so her coming into the camp…she’s from a tiny town in Longford in Ireland so they’re both from the sticks we’d call it in Ireland, the middle of nowhere.’

Continuing to reflect on possible points of connection, Shane went on: ‘They both reached big fame they wouldn’t have been able to comprehend as kids growing up in their small towns. So could be similarities there as well.’

Shane and Maura got together when Maura was working as a ring girl at a boxing match he was commentating in 2018.

Shane pointed out that Maura and his father actually have a lot in common (Picture: Good Morning Britain)

Maura has quickly become a fan favourite on the series (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)

A source told The Sun at the time: ‘Maura has brains and beauty and she quickly caught Shane’s eye.’

However, it seems they were never meant to be, as the insider added: ‘They went on a few dates and had fun, but Maura lives in Ireland.

‘Shane is running his successful boxing gym in London, and then she was travelling for work, so it wasn’t easy to pull off.’

On Maura and Shane’s split, they said: ‘There were no hard feelings when it ended. It turned out to be short-lived and the spark fizzled out.’

Shane spoke to Good Morning Britain following his father emotionally opening up to his fellow campmates about the death of his daughter on the show.

Barry told Strictly Come Dancing’s Oti Mabuse, McFly’s Danny Jones, Tulisa Contostavlos, and Alan Halsall about the shocking death of his daughter – who died in 2019 at the age of 33 – during their second day in the jungle.

Barry opened up about the loss of his daughter Danika to his campmates (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)

Jane Moore, Melvin Odoom, Dean McCullough and GK Barry are also part of this year’s cast, with Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly returning with their grim bushtucker trials.

During November 18’s episode, after Grace managed to score nine stars and Coleen discussed the infamous Wagatha Christie trial, the campmates bonded around a campfire

At one point, Dean asked Barry about whether he goes to church, to which the sporting icon replied: ‘I used to go to church a lot but after my daughter… you know, not as much.’

‘I used to go incessantly, but when you lose a child…’ he broke off.

Danika McGuigan died suddenly in 2019 of cancer (Picture: Dave Hogan/Getty Images)

She had first been diagnosed with leukaemia when she was 11 years old, and was diagnosed a second time after suffering from pains in her stomach.

Recalling the horrific time for his family when Danika was a child, Barry shared: ‘She had leukaemia, when I was making The Boxer with Daniel Day Lewis, three weeks from the end I had to leave because she’d been diagnosed with leukaemia.

‘They thought she wasn’t going to get better, but she fought back and she won it. She had two years of chemo but she was good.’

It remains to be seen if Shane will be right that Barry and Maura end up fast friends (Picture: Rich Lowe/ITV/Shutterstock)

He then broke down in tears, before continuing.

‘It still hurts,’ Dean said, as Tulisa told him: ‘You’re a man going through pain, and you’re vulnerable about it, and that takes strength. There’s no rules to grieving, Barry.’

She added: ‘It’s an extension of your love that you’re holding on to these memories, that doesn’t mean you’re weak, it means, “This is how much I love my daughter, and I’m grieving.”‘

As Barry sobbed, Oti and Coleen also struggled to keep their emotions under wraps, with the pro dancer growing emotional and saying: ‘I don’t think you ever get over things like that, I don’t think you ever get over losing someone.’

‘For a big strong guy, I also admire that he’s brave enough to just let it go,’ she added.

‘No matter what I do, it all comes back,’ Barry went on, recalling the ‘horrible weeks’ when Danika was in hospital.

‘It was shocking.’

He went on to explain: ‘She had pains in her tummy but she was making the movie, she put it off and went to the doctor, called us all in. Stage 4 bowel cancer, 5 weeks, 5 weeks she died.’

Shane also spoke about his father’s display of grief on Good Morning Britain, saying his family’s loss is something that is always with them.

He said that they all miss Danika every day, and that his father’s emotional moment was moving.

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