When Molly-Mae Hague first returned to social media this summer following her shock split from fiancé Tommy Fury, one person who was immediately there for her with some words of encouragement was Maura Higgins.
Now, as much-loved reality star Maura continues to tackle both Bushtucker Trials and starvation in the I'm A Celeb jungle, we take a look back at how she and Molly-Mae's friendship has strengthened, even amid battles in their respective love lives.
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The pair's relationship endured a rocky beginning back in 2019, when they were each sky-rocketed into the spotlight as 'bombshells' on the ITV2 dating series, Love Island.
Molly-Mae entered the famous on-screen villa first, capturing the attention of boxer Tommy, who'd previously been 'coupled up' with co-star Lucie Donlan.
Their romance was plain-sailing until no-nonsense beauty Maura strutted in, announcing off the bat that she only had eyes for the boxer, and was planning on stealing him away from the social media influencer.
Thankfully for Molly-Mae, however, Manchester-lad Tommy remained loyal, whilst feisty Irish queen Maura went on to date several of her cast-mates - particularly Curtis Pritchard, whom she finished the series with.
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Despite awkward beginnings, the years that followed saw Molly-Mae and Maura's friendship continue to blossom, with the duo regularly appearing on one another's social media stories, and at red carpet events together.
In a surprising 2020 confession, Hertfordshire-lass Molly-Mae, now 25, even went as far as to claim that 33-year-old Maura was the only ex-Islander she remained in touch with, emphasising that she and Tommy are as close as 'brother and sister'.
And when the couple gave birth to their first child together in January last year - a daughter named Bambi - Maura was often seen on social media visiting the family, who were based in Cheshire.
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Sadly, however, just a year after announcing their engagement, Molly-Mae and Tommy, also 25, blindsided their fans back in August by revealing that they'd called off their relationship, and would be co-parenting Bambi from there on out.
"Never in a million years did I think I'd ever have to write this," YouTube star Molly-Mae penned at the time, announcing she'd also be taking a temporary break from social media until her head clears.
"After five years of being together I never imagined our story would end, especially not this way."
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And when Molly-Mae did return to Instagram, Maura was immediately there to offer her some kind words.
Posting a photo of herself looking out over a lake as she thanked fans for their support, Molly-Mae penned in the caption: "Thank you for being the best online friends I could’ve ever wished for."
Maura then immediately took to the comments, telling her beloved friend, 'LOVE and ADORE YOU', along with a stream of love-heart emojis.
Thousands of other comments from well-wishers soon came flooding in, supporting Molly-Mae.
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"We all love you Molly glad to see you back posting... the nation’s sweetest soul," one told her.
"THERE SHE IS. We have missed you!" someone else wrote, while a third added: "Sending so much love, we are all thinking of you."
Topics: Celebrity, Love Island, Im A Celebrity, Maura Higgins, Molly Mae Hague, Reality TV
Rhianna Benson