Maya Jama has shared details of a thoughtful gift her boyfriend Ruben Dias picked for her birthday.
The Love Island host, 31, confirmed she was dating the Portuguese footballer, 28, after they reportedly met at the European Music Awards in November.
After they were first spotted together on New Year’s Eve, Maya then went public with her beau earlier this summer when posting a series of snaps with him on a luxury yacht off the Amalfi Coast.
Last week Maya celebrated her birthday and has now shared details of a sweet present he purchased for her.
Posting a photo holding the book A Grave for a Dolphin while sitting on a bed, she explained: ‘He got me this book for my birthday because it’s apparently one of Iman’s favourite books and he knows how much I love her.’
‘And I’ve finally finished Yellowface,’ she added.
Maya then went on to share that ‘reading has genuinely made me spend half the amount of time on my phone recently’.
Written by Italian author Alberto Denti di Pirajno and published in 1956, A Grave for a Dolphin directly inspired David Bowie’s song Heroes, which was documented in his foreword to his wife’s memoir, I am Iman, 2001.
Maya and Ruben’s romance was revealed in a completely unexpected way by broadcaster Gary Lineker.
In March Maya was announced as the co-manager for the Baller League UK, a celebrity-backed six-a-side football competition.
But when appearing in a promo video for it, departing Match of the Day host Gary emerged in the footage to jokingly reference rumours of her relationship with Ruben.
After he urged Maya to ‘get her boyfriend to play for us’, she quipped: ‘Get out! This is why I don’t talk to old people. They’re so weird.’
Ruben plays centre-back for Manchester City and for his home country’s national team.
He’s regarded as one of the world’s best defenders, having signed to Man City in 2020 for a reported €68 million (£57m).
The footballer was previously in a relationship with Portuguese singer-songwriter April Ivy from 2018 to 2021, and had also been linked to Love Island star Arabella Chi.
Maya previously dated Stormzy from 2014 until 2019 and was then engaged to Australian basketball player Ben Simmons, however they broke up in 2022.
She later got back together with Stormzy in 2023, they ended up splitting just under a year later, sharing a statement on Instagram that explained: ‘We tried, and it didn’t work, and that’s okay.’
‘We still think the absolute world of each other, we still care and respect each other, we are still grateful for the time we’ve had together, and we are still friends and will always be friends (so if you see us having a lil catch-up at The Brits or something, don’t cause a fuss, we are dawgs!).
‘Announcing this feels so dramatic, but we’re doing it so that it kind of takes away the drama and avoids speculation and rumours. We’re kindly asking for the grace to let both of us keep it moving and not be bothered about it (we highly doubt this’ll work, but we’re still kindly asking anyway.’
Last year – the same month she met Ruben – she spoke about looking for a lifelong partner.
‘I am so happy right now but the next person I meet I want to marry and have kids with, so obviously I’m feeling fussy. I’ve created such a nice life for myself alone and I don’t want anyone who’s not going to add to that,’ she told The Standard.
‘I’m in this lovely bubble and I don’t want you unless you make me happy. If you’re not, I kind of don’t need you.
‘One thing I’ve learned: some people are like, “I’m lonely, I need someone”. But the mission in life is to make yourself happy, then find someone who brings something that matches that to the table.’
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