Maura Higgins returned to Love Island on Sunday night as an “ultimate bombshell”.
The Irish model, 34, rose to fame on Love Island in 2019, where she finished fourth alongside then-boyfriend Curtis Pritchard.
The I’m A Celebrity star later hosted Love Island USA’s spin-off Aftersun - but stepped away earlier this year as she was filming The Traitors USA and was replaced by Australian host, Sophie Monk.
She made a dramatic comeback to Aftersun for the Love Island USA final, strutting into the Fiji-based villa in slow motion in a teaser video on Instagram captioned: “TUHHHNIGHT on Aftersun.”
Show narrator Iain Stirling, 37, said in the clip: “Tonight, the ultimate bombshell returns, it's Maura Higgins, and she's brought some All Star friends with her.”
Higgins - who has been laying low since her “kiss” with married McFly singer Danny Jones - seemed to be relishing her return and wrote on Instagram: “Feels good to be back.”
The ITV star posted several photos of her on the show and backstage on her account.
Four couples vied for the $100,000 prize in the Love Island USA final - Nic Vansteenberghe and Olandria Carthen, Amaya Espinal and Bryan Arenales, Iris Kendall and Pepe Garcia-Gonzalez and Huda Mustafa and Chris Seeley - heading into Sunday's finale.
Host Ariana Madix announced that Iris and Pepe were in fourth place, Huda and Chris were in third, Nic and Olandria were runners-up, and Amaya and Bryan came first.
Higgins appears to have recovered from the backlash of her drunken “snog” with her I’m A Celebrity co-star Jones at a BRIT Awards afterparty in March.
She travelled to the US for a western-themed fashion shoot and attended Coachella, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber.
The TV star also appears to have shrugged off the drama by spending time with Hollywood A-lister Margot Robbie. The Barbie actress, who’s known to be a fan of Love Island, met Higgins for a glamorous lunch while the pair were in London.
Jones, meanwhile, issued a grovelling public apology to his wife, model Georgia, and their seven-year-old son, Cooper.
“I want to deeply apologise to my wife and family for putting them in this situation. I love them so much and we'll continue to deal with this privately,” he wrote on Instagram.
“I love you guys, thank you for your patience, understanding, and support. See you all soon, Danny.”
