Maya Jama Exits As ‘Love Island UK’ Host After 9 Seasons

Maya Jama, the ultimate bombshell, is not returning as Love Island UK host after fronting the dating series for nine seasons.

Jama took to social media to share a goodbye message with some of her best bits from the ITV reality series.

“What an incredible era and what an unforgettable time I’ve had, it’s been far too much fun to put into words or a video..but as all good things must come to an end, it’s my time to step down as the host of my beloved Love Island,” Jama shared on Instagram.

She continued, “Firstly, I want to thank all of the people who rooted so hard for me to host the show in the first place. I wouldn’t change a thing. To the fans of the show, thank you for every supportive message and every single time you’ve tuned in during my time as host, I’m forever grateful to you all. The show really does belong to the people who watch it and embrace it year after year.”

Jama joined Love Island UK in Season 9 (2023) after host Laura Whitmore stepped down. As host of the dating series, Jama also hosted companion series Love Island Aftersun and spinoffs Love Island Games and Love Island All Stars.

Following the summer Love Island UK series, there were rumblings that she was eyeing an exit from hosting duties, and in an interview with Deadline, she addressed those rumors.

“I never know,” Jama said about returning to host the series. “[The UK press] always do this. Every time I do a series — that’s happened for the last three years — they’ll say, ‘Maya is leaving.’ And I think they just throw it out there just in case. Then people grab onto it, and they’re like, ‘Oh, are you leaving?'”

She continued, “But I never decide if I’m doing the next series until the end of one. So it’s fake news that I’m leaving, but I always decide at the end of a series if I’m going to continue the next year. So we’ll find out.”

Jama is coming off of starring in BBC One’s The Celebrity Traitors Season 2, where she was a Traitor and made it to the finale, but was banished in the last roundtable. She also starred in the second season of Netflix’s The Gentlemen.

In her goodbye message to Love Island UK, Jama looked back at her hosting duties, saying, “I started hosting the show aged 28 and during the 9 incredible series met the most wonderful humans along the way. I’ve loved every slow-mo walk, fire pit and live show. I’ll forever be grateful for the experience.
But I’ve always believed that to truly grow, you have to take a leap every now and then, and now is my time to throw myself into something new.”

“While my own Love Island journey has come to an end, I wish the show and the team all the success in the world, I’ll be cheering you lot on from the sidelines forever,” she ended.