Love Island star Maura Higgins shared a childhood trauma which at the time, left her fearing her mum had died.
In an interview with Married At First Sight relationship expert Paul C Brunson's podcast We Need To Talk, Maura recalled the moment her mum collapsed at the family home, following a bitter split with the star's dad. Her mum Sharon had suffered from a nervous breakdown.
When asked how the break-up between her parents Sharon and Seamus had an impact on her and the family, she candidly said: "It was a very nasty break-up and a lot went on, like, things I would never want to talk about because I wouldn't want to be saying things about my mum or dad."
She added: "But now I don't have a relationship with my dad. When the break-up happened, my mum was trying to keep a roof over four kids and herself and we were all in school, it was very, very hard and I remember seeing my mum struggle, a lot."
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We Need To Talk/YouTube)Maura continued: "She had a nervous breakdown, she collapsed in the kitchen in front of all of us and only for my older sister, she was a lot older at the time, she knew to like put her on her side and call the ambulance. I don't know why I remember this, but I remember, mammy has a rare blood type and my older sister knew to say that to the paramedics."
The reality TV star, who regularly turns heads while walking the red carpet at star-studded events, went on to say: "And I just remember thinking she's dead. I did not move. I did not help my mum. I was young, I was sat crying, like screaming crying. I didn't know what was going on. So yeah, that was a lot." Moving away from the topic of her family life, Maura also spoke about how she had "dark" thoughts after finding fame on Love Island.
She said: "Life after Love Island was a very hard time in my life. I was just dropped to the UK. It was like someone just picked me up, dropped me to the UK and I was in the public eye. I had nowhere to live. I had no friends, no family, nobody I could trust."
She explained: "I've done everything by myself. I've been independent my whole life. But that was a lot. That was scary. Very, very scary. And I remember a lot of times I was faking a smile. Work was so busy. I was getting barely any sleep. I was chased by the paps everywhere I went. I had no clothes. I had a suitcase with just Love island bikinis that were probably crusty. I had nothing, absolutely nothing. I was living out of a hotel in London because that’s where all my work was and it was way overloaded. There was no break."
Despite seemingly living a life many have dreamed of, it seems things could not have been further from the truth. She went on to say: "It was going from one thing to the next, like, to radio to this photo shoot to you've signed with brands. People will say, ‘why didn't you say no?’ But you're in this new world. "
She added: "Things got too much for Maura, but didn't talk to anyone about how she was feeling. I had a breakdown. I had dark thoughts, very dark thoughts. And it got to a stage where I don't even think I told my mam. I tell my mum everything. I didn't tell her how bad it was."
She then said: "I didn't want to be here anymore. I thought that was going to be the best thing. There was so much expected from me. And because I was there on my own, I was like, ‘I've just nobody to help’. You know, people say moving house is stressful. Moving house is very stressful. Moving country while being thrown into the public eye is terrifying."
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