Maya Jama And Stormzy’s Relationship: From Why They Split To When They Got Back Together

1 March 2024, 20:00

Maya Jama and Stormzy confirmed they’re back together! But what happened the first time around? How long were they together? Why did they split? Here’s everything you need to know.

With Maya Jama at the helm of Love Island and Stormzy being his adorable talented self, these two have to be the cutest celebrity couple in the spotlight right now.

But their relationship took a turn for the worse in 2019 when the couple broke up and stayed apart for almost four years before rekindling their epic romance toward the end of 2023.

With Maya inspiring a number of Stormzy’s hit tracks and the musician lamenting to the likes of Louis Theroux about the loss of his relationship with her, it’s no wonder the pair are trying to give it another go.

• Read more: Maya Jama And Stormzy Are Officially Back As A Power Couple In First Outing Since Reuniting
• Read more: Love Island Fans Are Re-Living The Time Stormzy Appeared On The Show

But how long were Maya and Stormzy together before the break up? Why did they split up? And how on earth did Stormzy manage to get Maya back? Here’s the couple’s complete relationship timeline and everything you need to know.

How long have Maya Jama and Stormzy been together?

Maya and Stormzy reportedly met all the way back in 2014 at an event in London.

2014 was a big year for both of them with Maya cast as a presenter for MTV’s The Wrap Up, her career was just beginning to seriously take off and that was the same year Stormzy began gaining notoriety in the UK underground music scene.

The pair were lucky enough to get to know each other before becoming huge public figures and they apparently didn’t start officially dating until 2015.

Maya spoke about this time in their lives on Shopping With Keith Lemon, she said “We just had a normal relationship. We met when we were like 20 before anyone cared about us. So then it was just a normal relationship. Basically, I always said it was like a normal relationship but people wanted to look at it more and talk about it more.”

According to Maya, she tried to keep it cool how she felt about Stormzy at the beginning.

Speaking to Vogue, she revealed, “I knew I fancied him from the start. But I didn't want anything yet, because, you know, you're trying to do the whole friend situation first.”

"It was a childish phase. And then one day we just kissed, and that was that!"

The pair went on to date for four years until they announced their break up in 2019.

What Stormzy songs are about Maya Jama?

In 2016, Stormzy released the track ‘Birthday Girl’ for Maya’s 22nd birthday. He confirmed this by tweeting at the time, “This was for the Mrs but I hope that any girl can vibe to it and play it on their birthday also and feel special.”

In 2017, Stormzy’s debut album 'Gang Signs & Prayer' was released and Maya starred in the music video for 'Big For Your Boots', which ended up as the lead single from the record.

In 2019, after their break up, Stormzy released his Album ‘Heavy Is The Head’, which supposedly included references to his break up with Maya in the track ‘Lessons.’

The lyrics to the song include lines such as; “You taught me love, oh, what a gift… I know that it's hard, too hard to forgive.”

As well as, "I done the dirt and then I figured that you’ll dig it out, but that’s a coward move, I guess you got me figured out, I know you’ll never listen now."

In 2022, three whole years after their break up, Stormzy was still releasing music that may not have directly referenced Maya, but supposedly was inspired by her.

For example, from his album ‘This Is What I Mean’, the song ‘Firebabe’ which is about the power of that first initial spark when you meet someone you like.

The lyrics to the song include,"She was standin’ in her dress, And she was lookin’ like an angel, Her eyes took away my breath."

But the most incriminating of all is from the song ‘Hide and Seek’ from the same album where Stormzy sings, "I've tried and I've tried, but I just can't hide from you, love."

Why did Maya Jama and Stormzy break up?

By 2019, Stormzy and Maya had established themselves in their careers and garnered many fans from across the world. These fans were heartbroken to learn of their break up and immediately rumours began swirling as to why.

However to put these rumours to bed, Maya's representative released a statement at the time that read: “Maya has moved out of their home in south west London. The decision isn't one she has come to lightly, but ultimately the relationship has come to an end. She wants to focus on her TV and radio career for now.”

While no solid reason for their breakup was released, it became clear that the pressures of fame influenced their relationship.

As Maya’s career was growing steadily, Stormzy's skyrocketed from being an underground singer to one of the most popular Grime artists in the world in a matter of years.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Maya revealed how they needed the time to focus on their own careers and define themselves outside of their relationship, “We were so young when we met, just beginning our careers.“I’m not naive to the fact that when you are a woman in the industry, most of the things that people want to talk about are your relationships.”

“I don’t think either of us knew it was going to be such a big thing. We were just: we’re young and in love and we’re going to go for it and work really hard. We’re just together. We never really did red carpets. We didn’t do any of that stuff.”

The TV presenter also expressed how the pair never realised the importance of their relationship, as two very successful celebrities with African heritage, to the Black community and the pressure they would feel.

“None of us really knew the level of importance it held to a certain group of people, us being together,” Maya said to British Vogue, “We were both super ambitious. We were both from similar upbringings and we were both just little grafters that have made something good of ourselves."

The break up seemed to have had a significant effect on Stormzy and he was open about the lessons he was learning and teaching himself because of it.

He said to GQ “I never wanted to ever be in a position again where I felt what I was feeling. Because it showed me that I was a boy. And I do not want to go any further as a boy. I’ve seen how that manifests in other people. And I don’t want to be like that.”

While it’s unconfirmed, it definitely feels like Maya might have instigated the break up, because when speaking to Charlamagne Tha God on his Youtube channel, Stormzy revealed he wanted nothing more than to have made it work with her.

“I would love to be the man who she needs, I would love to do all the things that make this work. I want to marry her, I want to have her children,” he said.

But it was Stormzy’s 2022 interview with renowned documentary maker Louis Theroux that had people realising just how deeply he was not over this relationship.

The rapper spoke about the impact it had on him, speaking about losing a big love, he said “That's probably the biggest loss a man can have, isn't it? Away from someone passing away, that's the biggest loss you can have.”

“My breakup was probably the biggest catalyst for my growth as a man. It was like, 'OK, you made a mistake and you lose someone you loved, someone you cared for, someone who is special to you.'”

Did Stormzy or Maya Jama date anyone else during their break up?

While Stormzy’s name was linked to a few women between 2020 - 2022, none of the relationships were confirmed, in fact none of the reports seemed to have any depth to them.

Maya, however, began dating Australian NBA star Ben Simmons two years after her break up with Stormzy. The pair were photographed kissing at the Wimbledon in 2021.

They moved quickly, because just five months later the new couple were engaged, but it didn’t last long and by August 2022 the engagement was called off.

Perhaps careers got in the way again, as Maya got the role as host of Love Island UK and Simmons needed to stay in New York as he was playing for the Brooklyn Nets.

Or MAYBE, a certain handsome grime artist was still on her mind?

How did Stormzy get Maya Jama back?

Whilst officially the pair ended things mutually back in 2019, Stormzy seemed to have carried a lot of guilt about how things went wrong the first time, if his interviews were anything to go by.

So he must have felt the need to try to make things up to Maya with some elaborate gestures, and from the sounds of things that’s exactly what he did.

The tabloids reported that the holiday in Greece that the pair were enjoying in October was a gift from Stormzy.

A source apparently revealed "Stormzy is mad for Maya and has spent huge amounts of money taking her on a luxury holiday. He chartered a private jet to Greece then they flew into the resort by helicopter. It’s all very romantic."

Stormzy and Maya Jama do couple's TikTok challenge

"It was Maya’s birthday earlier this month and this trip is a bit of a belated birthday present from Stormzy to Maya. She means the world to him and he wants her to be treated like a queen," they continued.

And what a gift it was, if the reports are true, because the villa they were spotted at apparently cost a jaw dropping £2,700 a night.

But Maya never needed lavish gifts like that to be ‘won’ back, she can afford all that stuff herself.

According to a source speaking to The Standard, Stormzy managed to prove himself to be the man that Maya wanted and he may have recruited some back up to help win her back.

“Stormzy is really open about wanting to settle down and have kids one day and he knows Maya is ‘The One’,” the source told the publication.

“Stormzy is really close to his mum Abigail who has always been Maya’s biggest fan… Abigail wants the best for her son and motivated him to make amends with Maya.”

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