But being branded a “marriage wrecker” for her “drunken kiss” with married McFly singer Danny Jones at a Brit Awards afterparty is not exactly the type of coverage she craves.
The Sun can reveal former Love Island beauty Maura, 34, went to ground after our exclusive story broke because the negative reaction to her snog with Danny has “hurt her bad”.
And one of the biggest reasons she’s struggling is that, despite drunkenly kissing a married man, what she really wants more than anything is to settle down and have a family of her own, sources say.
Maura's dream life
According to insiders, being a mum has always been Maura's dream, but that won’t put her off dating anyone in the public eye.
The source close to the reality star said: “Maura has always wanted to have a family, that’s been a huge goal from day dot. Dating famous men does not intimidate her, in fact she believes it’s probably easier as they can understand her life better.
“But that doesn’t mean when she does finally settle down, it will be with a fellow celebrity.”
For now, however, Maura is focused on putting some distance between herself and all the headlines - which is why she’s jetted more than 5000 miles away to California.
Lying low
A source close to the Irish model said: “Maura isn’t enjoying this one bit, which is why she’s keeping her head down.
“Normally with Maura, everywhere she goes, it’s tagged on social media - be it a restaurant, event or city - she likes people knowing where she is.
The negative comments have hurt her bad. No wonder she's fled the country."
A friend of Maura
“But Maura is deliberately shying away because she just wants to ride out this furore.
“The negative comments she’s receiving for kissing a married man have hurt her bad and she would have read every one.
“She would also have consumed every word written about this story, totally absorbing the coverage which makes it worse.
“No wonder she’s fled the country.”
The I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! star left the UK on Monday, claiming on Instagram she’s heading to Los Angeles for a “work trip”.
The message was her first post since The Sun revealed footage of her kiss with fellow campmate Danny at 180 House in London after the annual star-studded music bash earlier this month.
Real reason she hasn't apologised
The McFly frontman, 38, who was crowned King of the Jungle last December, has also yet to comment, as he’s currently locked in “crisis talks” with his wife of nine years Georgia Horsley, 37, who feels understandably let down by his antics.
Insiders close to Maura’s camp believe she cannot speak out until Danny breaks his silence, which is why the apology so many of her detractors are demanding has yet to arrive.
But whatever the outcome of Danny’s make or break conversations with his angry wife, neither he or Maura are going to emerge from this with much credit.
However, where Danny’s main source of income - his music - is unlikely to be affected by the kiss, Maura’s money spinner - lucrative brand deals - might be.
This is particularly alarming given she’s spent the past year desperately trying to fill a £678,000 hole in her company’s accounts, helped somewhat by her jungle stint.
So with her financial situation bordering on perilous, she’s understandably worried about the impact kissing a married man - a guy who has built his image on being a loving dad and went viral last year for showing footage of his young son’s reaction to him winning The Masked Singer - will have on her future career prospects.
Man trouble
It’s an unfortunate pattern that women who are linked to married men are often judged more harshly than the men themselves, and while Danny is certainly just as much to blame for what happened, Maura appears to be coming off worse in the court of public opinion.
Some people see Maura as someone who has used men to advance her career - and it's come back to bite her.
A source close to Maura
In fact, some industry insiders claim that Maura has earned a reputation in showbiz circles for being a social climber - and while that may be an unfair, and somewhat sexist assumption, it’s one that may have come back to “bite her”.
The source explains: “Some people see Maura as someone who has used men to advance her career, which might be why the majority of her relationships end on bad terms.
“Attaching herself to Curtis Pritchard during Love Island, one of the few male castmembers with an established pre-show profile, was seen as a calculated move - especially after her early bid to lure Tommy Fury blew up in her face after he rejected her attempted kiss and stayed loyal to Molly-Mae Hague.
“She then dated Giovanni Pernice, going public with the Strictly dancer weeks before the 2021 series was announced - following her split from her Love Island co-star Chris Taylor, which also ended badly.
“And then just as Pete Wicks was about to land a career-defining spot on the 2024 series of Strictly, their relationship went public - although that romance had been rumbling away for months beforehand.
“Maura likely genuinely formed a connection with Danny, and while she usually wouldn’t contemplate going there with a married man, after a few drinks on a boozy night out, she let her feelings get the better of her.”
Molly friendship under the microscope
Maura, who has gone through three agents since finding fame on Love Island, hasn’t just had her relationships with men called into question during her time in the spotlight.
Her detractors have also been sceptical of her friendship with social media influencer Molly-Mae too.
She’s been keen to align herself with both Molly-Mae and Tommy, although the former has previously lauded Maura for her “support” down the years and is adamant their friendship is “genuine”.
The insider added: “Maura has used that link to boost her career there’s no doubt about that.
“That really helped her land a place in the jungle - ironically when Tommy pulled out - as she really ramped that up around the time campmates were signing deals.”
So where does this leave Maura now?
Maura's next move
Career-wise, Maura is certainly ambitious as ever and hoping the current situation will blow over.
She wants to launch her own podcast and land more TV presenting gigs.
Indeed, her biggest ambition is to take over as host of Love Island when Maya Jama finally steps down.
The source added: “Maura has never attempted to distance herself from Love Island, it’s a brand she very much invested in.
“She’s hosted social media spin-offs for the US version and an After Sun equivalent.
“If Maya ever leaves, Maura knows she would be in a strong position to take over and appreciates the gig would bring exciting opportunities elsewhere.
“And she knows she would bring plenty of blood and thunder to the role too.”
She just needs to ride out this kiss storm first.
