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Maura Higgins and Chris Taylor have confirmed that they are an article, after months of speculation.
The former Love Island stars took to Instagram Tuesday night to post identical snapshots, taken poolside in Dubai.
Maura, 29, and Chris, 30, looked at each other lovingly in the photo, smirking, and Maura captioned their post: ‘He’s mine!’
It was about time too! Maura Higgins and Chris Taylor have confirmed that they are an article on Instagram, after months of speculation.
Chris did the same and wrote, “Turns out I fell in love with my best friend!”
This was met with sweet responses from other Love Island contestants like Micheal Griffiths and Ellie Brown, who seemed to already be aware of the secret.
Laura Anderson also chimed in and added: ‘Why am I crying? #bestnewsever ‘
TOWIE’s Gemma Collins also spoke out on the snap, writing, ‘I’m so happy for you.
The beloved couple looked like the picture of happiness: Maura in a champagne satin minidress and Chris in his signature jazz shirt and ripped skinny jeans.
Ex Marks The Spot: Chris has been friends with Maura, seen posing with her and her ex Curtis Pritchard after their stint on Love Island 2019
The secret came out: This was met with sweet responses from other Love Island contestants like Micheal Griffiths and Ellie Brown, who seemed to already be aware of the secret.
The couple have fueled the rumors for months with their close friendship, but denied they were an article in July.
They first got the tongues moving after teasing Tik Toks together, getting comfortable with Twister games, going out at night, and donning each other’s robes.
But Chris, who was paired with Harley Brash on the show, and Maura, who parted ways with her Love Island adventure Curtis Pritchard earlier in the year, consistently denied the rumors.
When told they would make the perfect match, Chris replied, ‘Yes, potentially. We’ve never really thought about it like that, we’re just super close companions.
Lost Love: Chris was paired with Harley Brash on the show, but this didn’t last long
“We care for each other, we care for each other, we basically intimidate each other.”
The couple did little to stop the speculation after sharing a cheeky kiss in front of the camera in a recent post on social media.
Chris shared a clip of them kissing on his Instagram account on Thursday, while participating in the ‘kiss your best friend TikTok challenge’.
In the steamy video, the former love islander was seen pulling Maura off the couch as he tried to persuade her to take part in the video with him.
Kiss: The couple did little to stop the speculation after sharing a cheeky kiss on camera in a recent social media post.
But Chris took things up a notch as he stripped off his shirt before lifting his friend over his head for a Dirty Dancing-style lift.
When he slowly lowered the brunette beauty to the ground, he leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the lips, only for Maura to smile and seemingly push him away.
However, by the end of the video, Maura appeared to lean back for another kiss after seemingly rejecting Chris’s initial advances during the challenge.
Steamy! In the steamy video, the former love islander was seen pulling Maura off the couch as he tried to persuade her to take part in the video with him.
But the video was interrupted, leaving fans on the edge of their seats as they continue to look forward to a burgeoning romance between the former love islanders.
Alongside the video, Chris wrote: ‘Challenge kiss your best friend @maurahiggins. Greetings Tiktok … damn fantastic idea. Probs shouldn’t have been launched fairly.
A little impressed Maura hilariously commented on the video: ‘Stop trying to kiss your best friend!’
While other former Love Island stars, including Joe Garratt, Georgia Steel, and Laura Anderson, were quick to come together to express their surprise and ‘love’ for the adorable clip.
Rejection: When Chris slowly lowered the brunette beauty back to the ground, he leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the lips, only for Maura to smile and seemingly push him away.
Lip Pecking: But at the end of the adorable video, Maura seemed to lean back for another kiss after seemingly rejecting Chris’s initial advances during the challenge.
But fans couldn’t help but notice that Maura seemed to return to kiss Chris at the end of the video, prompting even more speculation about a budding romance.
One excited fan wrote: ‘Looks like he went to kiss you back!’
While another wrote: ‘How can you cut it like that brother? We all saw her come back for that kiss, you can’t fool us. ‘
And a third simply commented, ‘He definitely came back to kiss you.’
Friends: The couple met on the fifth season of Love Island, with Chris leaving the villa without finding love and Maura leaving the show alongside Curtis Pritchard.
Speaking previously with MailOnline, Maura insisted that her relationship with Chris is strictly platonic.
She continued: ‘Chris is one of my best friends. A lot of people have said that we are dating, but it’s only because we get along so well.
‘We click and have the same jokes. We got along very well in the village, but I don’t think our friendship showed at all.
“ A lot of people assumed we became friends outside of the show, but that wasn’t the case, we clicked right away. ”
Cool! Maura and Chris appeared on Love Island: What Happened next last month, where the former network girl joked that one day ‘they might be friends with benefits, who knows!’
But they were the focus of more speculation after the friends appeared on Love Island: What Happened next last month.
Speaking during a confessional, Maura admitted that she is regularly asked about her relationship and said, ‘I get so many messages about me and Chris!’
Chris added: “We get along really well, similar personalities and banter … I think finding someone you can be yourself with is really weird.”
While the former girl on the grid joked: ‘One day we might be friends with benefits, who knows!’
