I Thought Breaking Maya and Ruben’s Split Was Big — Until I Saw the DMs Waiting for Me

WHEN I heard last week that Maya Jama and Ruben Dias had quietly split after 18 months, I was pretty surprised, as they seemed more loved-up than ever.

But what was lurking in my DMs was even more shocking and left me disgusted – and I’m not even talking about the revelation Ruben had been indulging in a little late-night Instagram action (but more on that later).

The story begins last Thursday when I broke the news about the golden couple’s split and then shared that they had made the mutual decision to call time on their 18-month relationship ahead of a manic summer of work because it had run its course.

I was entirely taken aback by the response.

Tribes of trolls swarmed the comments of my social media posts and direct messages, all hitting out at Maya.

No surprises, many were Ruben’s fans through Manchester City, but among them was also bile from women.

Among some revoltingly offensive, sexual comments were statements about the number of men she had dated and others like “she should fit her work around him”.

I won’t give the hate any further airtime by sharing more.

But I couldn’t believe that in 2026 such backward statements were being made… so allow me to set the record straight.

Since 2015, Maya has dated three men: rapper Stormzy, basketball player Ben Simmons and Ruben Dias.

Ruben, meanwhile, dated Portuguese pop star April Ivy from 2018 to 2021, Love Island’s Arabella Chi in 2023 and then Maya.

I’m no maths expert, but I’d call that even.

There was no trash-talking Ruben’s love life, though; no comments regarding his three relationships.

Next was the assertion that Maya – who has never been an ordinary WAG – should bend her life to fit around his schedule.

When they split, sources close to the couple said: “Maya and Ruben had a wonderful time together, and there’s still a lot of love and respect between them.

“But with both of their careers going into overdrive over the summer, they realised the relationship had run its course, and it was better to separate.

“Maya is heading into an intense filming schedule, and Reuben’s focus is fully on the World Cup, so they’ve decided to part ways.

“There’s no bad blood at all between them. They’re still incredibly fond of one another, but with months apart ahead and huge work commitments coming up, they both felt it was the right time to step back from the relationship.

“The split has been very mature and mutual. They’re both young, ambitious and entering huge phases in their respective careers.

“Friends around them could see how much they cared about each other. They had a brilliant connection and a lot of fun together, but sometimes relationships run their course.

“With both of them facing career-defining months ahead, they decided it was better to end things now.”

Fans of Ruben refused to accept that Maya’s diary was in any way as important as Ruben’s.

The central defender has been chosen for Portugal’s World Cup squad and will line up for their first match on June 17.

Meanwhile, Maya will kick off Love Island in Majorca on June 1 and will soon be on screens in Guy Ritchie’s The Gentleman for Netflix.

Yesterday, she was unveiled as the new face of luxury lingerie line Agent Provocateur, which she adds to her already impressive CV that includes the cover of British Vogue and campaigns for Dolce & Gabbana, Gordon’s Gin and more.

Yet dinosaurs in my DMs mocked the notion that filming for one of ITV’s biggest shows or shooting for a designer brand was pressing.

They reckon she should clear her own schedule to accommodate such a catch as Dias.

I was asked why I cared so much about “a couple who I have never met” – that alone being a ludicrous statement.

“Intriguing that you’d assume I, a TV journalist, hadn’t met Maya, a TV host,” I hit back at one troll.

I’m painfully aware that break-ups deserve privacy, and this really is their own business.

But my passionate riposte to this hateful response to their split runs deeper than just those two people, and I couldn’t sit silent.

Particularly because this week I was able to reveal that Ruben has been accused of shady late-night phone antics.

Screenshots suggest he has sent follow requests to influencers on Instagram in a practice called “toe dipping” – where one user follows another on social media to invite a response, then if the targeted user doesn’t return the favour, the follow is retracted.

Fans have been tracking Ruben’s toe dipping for years and noted that he tends to follow a woman in the evening, then unfollows them the next day.

He is accused of two incidents whilst with Maya, and he’s already been back dipping his toe since the split, reaching out to an Australian ex-Love Islander called Amelia Marni a week after the break-up.

There is no suggestion that Ruben cheated on Maya, nor that he met with the women or interacted further.

Whilst the revelation is less than savoury, one positive is that it prompted a wave of support for Maya.

Gone are the suggestions that she ought to bend to Ruben’s schedule, and there has been no further mention of her dating credentials.

Maya and Ruben made the mutual decision to split before she flew to Inverness for The Celebrity Traitors at the end of April.

The host hinted at the change in her status in a new interview to launch Love Island.

Asked what advice she would give to the Islanders, she said: “Stay open, stay curious, and don’t be afraid to be true to yourself – it usually leads somewhere more interesting than playing it perfectly.

“You can sense chemistry instantly, but longevity is something else entirely.”

What’s clear to me is that the one with real staying power is Maya, who is a strong, independent woman, out there striving to live a happy and fulfilled life.