The distinction between inspiration and obsession becomes genuinely hazy at some point, somewhere between being pictured at a significant fashion event and answering a thousand questions about your stomach from followers. Maura Higgins spent some time walking that line. The first person to tell you that she crossed it will be her.
The Irish TV personality, best known for her time on Love Island in 2019, recently appeared at the Fashion Awards looking, by most accounts, extraordinary. She wore a figure-hugging latex dress, flaunted her washboard abs, and more. The internet responded as it usually does. Her Instagram was inundated with inquiries in a matter of hours. How does she manage to do that? What foods does she consume? What is the exercise? To her credit, Maura responded. “Lots of Pilates and yoga have made a huge difference to my body,” she wrote, adding something that isn’t often mentioned in these discussions: it’s mostly about consistency and balance. Don’t cut dramatically. No rigorous routine. She continues to eat pizza. She continues to eat pasta. She brought these up specifically, almost defensively, as though she wanted to make it clear that deprivation was no longer a factor. The word “anymore” has a lot of weight because things used to look very different.
When Maura sat down for an open interview back in 2021, she said something that stopped many people in their tracks. Her obsessive exercise had caused her to lose so much weight that her period had stopped for four months. For four months. Chris Taylor, her then-boyfriend, had pulled her away. She had been told quite bluntly by her mother that she had become too thin. Chris had reportedly said, “It’s not good,” referring to both the weight loss and the effects it was having on her body. Maura didn’t really slow down and consider what she was doing to herself until those conversations with those closest to her.
It’s possible that anyone observing her now, radiant and obviously comfortable in her own body, might not realize how much effort—emotional as well as physical—went into getting her to this point. Because it doesn’t always appear to be a problem from the outside, exercise obsession is one of those issues that is simple to ignore. Actually, it often resembles discipline. It appears to be a commitment. Only when the body begins to protest in ways that cannot be ignored does the difference become noticeable.
The intriguing thing about Maura’s landing spot is how purposefully unremarkable it sounds. Running. Walking. Yoga and Pilates. Not every day, but once or twice a week. Eating healthily during the week and unrestrictedly on the weekends. No proprietary meal plan, no signature supplement, and no dramatic before-and-after story are being offered. Instead of performing wellness for an audience, which is more uncommon than it probably should be in the world she lives in, there’s a sense that she’s truly arrived at something sustainable.
When she came out of the I’m A Celebrity jungle in December 2024, she was noticeably thinner, and the criticism that followed was the kind that Maura has obviously had to get used to. It’s difficult to ignore a subtle steadiness that wasn’t always present when observing how she manages that attention now as opposed to a few years ago. It doesn’t seem to shake her. She is open about her past, describes her routine, and moves on.
It’s still unclear if public figures who discuss disordered exercise habits genuinely change the discourse or if the prevailing message—thin is good, thinner is better—just drowns it out. However, Maura’s willingness to say “I went too far” while still maintaining her current appearance paints a more nuanced picture than most celebrity fitness content does. Perhaps the most honest aspect of it is that the cautionary tale and the abs coexist in the same narrative.
FAQs
1. What exercise does Maura Higgins do to stay in shape?
She practices Pilates and yoga consistently, alongside walking and running.
2. Did Maura Higgins ever have a health scare from over-exercising?
Yes, excessive exercise caused her period to stop for four months.
3. Does Maura Higgins follow a strict diet?
She eats healthy weekdays but freely enjoys pizza and pasta on weekends.
4. How often does Maura Higgins work out now?
She exercises just once or twice a week, prioritising balance over intensity.
5. Who first warned Maura Higgins that her weight loss had gone too far?
Her boyfriend Chris Taylor and her mother both raised serious concerns.
