Maura Higgins has admitted there were problems in her relationship from the minute she left the Love Island villa with Curtis Pritchard.
The model and former grid girl confessed the weeks after leaving the Majorca paradise with her now-ex was the "worst time" in her life, saying exhaustion and public scrutiny ruined what should have been the most exciting time of their romance.
She was so overworked that she fell ill and could barely make the time to see her then-boyfriend - though she denied carrying on with the relationship as a 'fauxmance'.
"I will never forget coming out of that villa," Maura told the Sun on Sunday's Fabulous magazine.
"I think it was the worst time of my life. I was so busy, I didn't know where I was. I was living out of a hotel, I was so stressed-out I was getting ill. I was so exhausted. I was just working so much - I was getting nothing, no break. Then I got to a stage where my head was not OK. I was upset and feeling really low from exhaustion, and I needed to take some time."
She admitted she and Curtis barely saw each other, which at the time lead to rumours the pair were on the rocks as they rarely appeared in each other's social media snaps.
"At the beginning it was very, very hard because I was so besotted with him, and we never got to see each other," Maura went on.
"When we did, it was really nice because you got the time to miss somebody. But sometimes it would be two weeks. You know when you're in a relationship and you know someone's day to day? We were that busy that we didn't, and it was strange."
It was when she started her gruelling training for Dancing On Ice that the couple's relationship started failing under the pressure.
"He was coming to some of the shows and stuff, but we were still very, very busy and it just took a toll on the relationship in the end," she added.
Maura believes their five-year age gap may well have played a part too, given that she is turning 30 later this year and wants someone she can see a future with.
"[Curtis] is 24 - maybe he did want that, maybe he didn't, I don't know, but I just felt it wasn't going in that direction. The time apart as well I want somebody I can be with most days."
Maura and Curtis announced they'd officially split earlier this month. Curtis has already denied rumours he's dating professional dancer Bethany Hall, who has been performing on his brother AJ Pritchard's live tour, while Maura has dismissed claims romance has blossomed between her and her DOI partner Alexander Demetriou.
