It’s the end of an era for fans who were rooting for a happy ending to Stormzy and Maya Jama’s love story. The British rapper and Love Island UK host surprised fans on Wednesday after announcing their decision to go their separate ways. After several years in an on-and-off relationship, the pair were only a few weeks shy of making it to the one-year anniversary of their reunion in August 2023. Celebrity breakup announcements are usually boring or explosive, but for Stormzy and Jama, it was diplomatic, candid and sincere — a rare message to see shared between recent exes.
In a joint statement posted on their Instagram stories, the former couple briefly recapped their dating history and explained how they tried to make their relationship work before calling it quits. “We’ve been laughing while drafting this because we never, ever, in a million years thought we’d be the couple announcing a breakup,” the statement started light-heartedly. Although it reads as if the pair was reluctant to publicize a private matter, they share that they proceeded with the statement for “the sake of clarity” and to heal in peace as they navigate their split.
“We fell madly in love in 2014, broke up in 2019, and then spent five years maneuvering life apart,” the post continued. “We decided to try for the final time in August 2023, and we’ve spent this past year trying our best to make it work. However, we recently decided to call it quits. We were 21 and 20 when we first met-both at the beginning of our careers-and spent five years growing together and then five years growing separately, so this final attempt required a whole lot of figuring out, relearning, and unlearning. We tried, and it didn’t work, and that’s okay.”
Celebrity breakup announcements typically go one of two ways: They can be so littered with PR speak and disingenuous that fans can tell a publicist wrote the statement, or they can be messy, with shadiness and subtle jabs. However, Stormzy and Jama deviated from the status quo in the best way possible. Unlike most celebrity breakup announcements, it’s obvious that the pair was involved in crafting the message. From showcasing their vulnerability about their current headspace to their transparency about the complexities of dating in their early twenties, the candid note was personable and relatable. In the post “conscious uncoupling” world of celebrity breakups, it’s typical to see celebs say they will stay friends in announcements like this, but this statement makes it seem like these two actually will.
The split comes almost a year after Stormzy and Jama made their relationship Instagram official in October 2023 in a post that has since been deleted. However, their love story began after meeting at an event in London in 2014. They started dating the following year but didn’t go public until 2016. Fans then witnessed the highs and lows of their four-year relationship before their first breakup in 2019. Infidelity rumors circulated Stormzy (which he denied), but he later admitted in a 2022 interview with British journalist Louis Theroux that he had made “mistakes” while coupled with Jama.
Last summer, the two sparked dating rumors after they were seen holding hands while vacationing in Greece. Months later, they confirmed their romance with a red carpet appearance. Despite their bumpy relationship journey, there appears to be no bad blood between the two, as pointed out in their message to fans.
The pair provided enough information to emphasize the effort they put into rekindling their romance without disclosing specific details. However, it wouldn’t be a proper celebrity breakup announcement without attempting to get ahead of potential false narratives. As public figures, Stormzy and Maya know that the chances of running into each other at the same event or within the same circles are high. Their note also addresses those future instances by recognizing their close friendship. As a result, fans are reassured that they ended on good terms, which instantly dispels any forthcoming speculations about their relationship status.
“We still think the absolute world of each other,” they wrote. “We still care and respect each other. We are still grateful for the time we’ve had together, and we are still friends and will always be friends (so if you see us having a little catch-up at The Brits or something, don’t cause a fuss, we are dawgs).”
The two exes ended their statement by pleading with fans to grant them grace as they move on. Other celebrities should take note. If you’re going to release a public statement after splitting up, this is how it’s done.
“Announcing this feels so dramatic, but we’re doing it so that it kind of takes away the drama and avoids speculation and rumors,” the pair concluded. “We’re kindly asking for the grace to let both of us keep it moving and not be bothered about it (we highly doubt this’ll work, but we’re still kindly asking anyway.)”
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