MAURA Higgins has recalled the horrifying moment she was assaulted in a taxi after a night out.
The former Love Island star, 33, revealed it took place during an evening out with pals before she shot to fame in 2019.
Maura said: “I genuinely blame myself. It’s terrible.
“We got in a taxi coming home from a night out. My friends got in the back, I got in the front because there was no more seats in the back. I won’t do that again.
“And my friends got dropped off before me. I fell asleep in the front seat.
“I had a short dress on and I woke up and his hand was up my skirt. I never sobered up so quick in all my life. I literally thought, ‘OK this is it’.”
Maura admitted she was too terrified to speak out during the attack and didn’t report the man for the same reason.
Speaking on the We Need To Talk podcast, she continued: “I did not say anything because I thought if I say something he could genuinely knock me out.
“I was just thinking the worst. The whole way back I was thinking he was going to pull over. I remember getting out at my house and I could not get the key in the door. I was shaking that much.
“I never reported him. And the reason I didn’t is because I thought, ‘this man knows where I live and I live here alone. And I’m not living in fear’.
“I should have because, you know, he could do that again. I do regret not reporting him, he could do that to so many more women. But I was scared.”
Maura’s boyfriend at the time was unsupportive and blamed her for the assault.
She added: “He said, ‘you shouldn’t have drunk that much’. He basically told me it was my fault.
“There was no sympathy. No, it was, ‘You clearly had too much to drink. What were you doing falling asleep in a taxi?’”
Maura also opened up about suffering from “dark thoughts” after finding fame and admitted “I didn’t want to be here”.
Maura, who is from Ballymahon, Ireland, said: “Life after Love Island was a very hard time in my life.
“I was just dropped to the UK. It was like someone just picked me up, dropped me to the UK and I was in the public eye. I had nowhere to live. I had no friends, no family, nobody I could trust.
“I’ve done everything by myself. I’ve been independent my whole life. But that was a lot. That was scary. Very, very scary.
“And I remember a lot of times I was faking a smile. Work was so busy. I was getting barely any sleep.
“I was chased by the paps everywhere I went. I had no clothes.
“I had a suitcase with just Love island bikinis that were probably crusty.
“I had nothing, absolutely nothing. I was living out of a hotel in London because that’s where all my work was and it was way overloaded. There was no break.
She continued: “I had a breakdown. I had dark thoughts, very dark thoughts.
“And it got to a stage where I don’t even think I told my mam. I tell my mum everything. I didn’t tell her how bad it was.
“I didn’t want to be here anymore. I thought that was going to be the best thing.”
And she spoke for the first time about her romance with Pete Wicks, after they were snapped snogging this week.
Addressing the rumours, Maura said of the Strictly star: “I adore him.”
