Maya Jama Net Worth: Love Island Salary and How She Made It
Maya Jama became a millionaire at 24. She said so herself. That detail matters because it arrives before Love
Maya Jama became a millionaire at 24. She said so herself.
That detail matters because it arrives before Love Island — before the ITV2 hosting deal that made her the most visible presenter on British television, before the Rimmel campaigns and the Dolce & Gabbana partnerships and the nine series that have cemented her as the face of the country’s most watched summer show. She built the foundation herself, across YouTube, BBC Radio 1, and a string of television presenting roles, before the biggest opportunity of her career arrived.
The Love Island deal changed her trajectory. What she built before it is what made her capable of handling it.
Here is the full picture.
Quick Answer
Maya Jama’s net worth is estimated between £3 million and £5 million as of 2026, with some projections suggesting higher given her cumulative Love Island earnings across nine series. She became a millionaire at 24 through presenting, radio, and brand partnerships. Her income spans television presenting fees, her skincare brand MIJ Masks, a co-ownership stake in plant-based milk brand Sproud, and major endorsement deals with Rimmel London, Dolce & Gabbana, and Adidas.
Who Is Maya Jama?
Maya Jama was born on 14 August 1994 in Bristol to a Somali father and a Swedish mother. She moved to London at 16 to pursue a career in broadcasting — a decision that required real conviction given she had no contacts, no industry connections, and no clear pathway.
She started on YouTube and with JumpOff.TV, moved into football content with Copa90, and worked her way through Rinse FM into BBC Radio 1, where she hosted a Saturday afternoon show before broader television work took over. Her early television credits include MTV The Wrap Up, the BBC’s Glow Up, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK judging, Walk the Line as host, and presenting stints at the BRIT Awards and alongside Peter Crouch for BBC’s Save Our Summer.
None of that is accidental accumulation. It is a presenter building range — music, fashion, sport, comedy, entertainment — before landing the role that would require all of it at once.
Love Island: The Role That Changed Everything
Maya Jama was announced as Love Island’s new host in October 2022, replacing Laura Whitmore after her departure from the show. Series 9 launched in January 2023 and Maya’s reception was immediate and enthusiastic — she was widely credited with bringing new energy to a format that had felt slightly tired in its final Whitmore series.
By the time of writing, she has completed nine series including Love Island Games, Love Island All Stars 1, All Stars 2, and All Stars 3, which aired in January and February 2026 and was won by Ciaran Davies and Samie Elishi.
The salary question is one of the most searched aspects of her profile. Laura Whitmore publicly disputed a reported figure of £600,000 per series — though she clarified she was paid only on days she worked rather than denying a high total. Capital XTRA reporting puts Maya’s estimated annual earnings from Love Island at £600,000 or above per series. Across nine series — including the international and All Stars formats — her cumulative Love Island earnings are estimated at over £6 million in total.
The exact figure is not publicly confirmed. What is certain is that it is substantial, recurring, and structured across multiple annual series rather than a single deal.
MIJ Masks and Sproud: The Business Ventures
Maya’s business portfolio reflects a specific kind of intelligence — investing in areas she genuinely uses and understands rather than simply lending her name to the highest bidder.
MIJ Masks, her skincare brand launched in 2021, was born from her documented passion for skincare, which predates her mainstream fame. The brand was valued at over £300,000 and continues to trade. It is not a celebrity vanity project — it is a product developed around a real consumer interest she had before anyone was paying attention to it.
Sproud is a Swedish plant-based milk brand of which Maya is both a co-owner and the face. She has discussed the investment openly, including in a conversation on Chunkz’s podcast where she talked about her broader entrepreneurial ambitions. “I want to be known as an entrepreneur,” she has said in various interviews — a statement supported by her business activity rather than contradicted by it.
These ventures are not her primary income. They are the infrastructure being built underneath the presenting career so that the wealth has somewhere to grow when the television contracts eventually change.
Brand Deals and Endorsements
Maya Jama’s endorsement portfolio is calibrated toward brand prestige rather than volume.
Rimmel London has been a long-term relationship — she has served as a face of the brand across multiple campaigns, connecting the mass-market cosmetics brand to a younger, culturally relevant audience that Rimmel was actively trying to reach.
Dolce & Gabbana and Adidas represent the luxury and sportswear ends of her fashion credibility. Both are selective partnerships. Neither brand takes on presenters without genuine cultural cachet.
A PrettyLittleThing collection extended her reach into the fast fashion space she clearly understands from watching the Love Island contestant-to-brand-deal pipeline for years. A Baller League UK partnership in 2025, alongside Swiss footballer Alisha Lehmann, added sport to her commercial portfolio.
Her British Vogue cover appearances have provided the fashion editorial credibility that gives the commercial deals their context. There is a difference between a presenter who appears in advertisements and one who appears on magazine covers — and Maya has established herself as both.
The Honest Net Worth Breakdown
The figures circulating for Maya Jama’s net worth vary considerably. Here is what the evidence actually supports:
| Source / Basis | Figure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Capital FM / older estimates | £1.5M | Pre-Love Island, now outdated |
| Cosmopolitan and equivalent | £3M+ | Post multiple Love Island series |
| Maya’s own public statement | Millionaire at 24 | Verified self-disclosure |
| MIJ Masks valuation | £300K+ | Business venture |
| Cumulative Love Island projection | £6M+ | If salary estimates are accurate |
| Most credible current range | £3M–£5M | Supported by multiple sources |
The gap between £3 million and the Love Island projection of £6 million reflects the uncertainty around her exact hosting fee. If the £600,000 per series figure is accurate and applies across all nine series, the arithmetic puts her well above £5 million from that deal alone. The conservative figure accounts for tax, costs, and the genuine uncertainty around exact terms.
Personal Life: Ruben Dias and the Manchester Chapter
Maya Jama began dating Manchester City and Portuguese national team defender Ruben Dias in late 2024, their relationship becoming public after the MTV EMAs in Manchester.
She has been spending significant time at Dias’s £2.5 million penthouse in Manchester city centre and has discussed the possibility of relocating from London to Manchester — a meaningful lifestyle shift for someone whose career has been anchored to the capital.
Her relationship history has been well-documented. She dated rapper Stormzy from 2016 to 2019 in one of UK entertainment’s most high-profile couples, briefly rekindled that relationship in 2023, and split again in July 2024. A relationship with NBA player Ben Simmons followed. The Ruben Dias chapter appears to be her most settled personal situation in several years.
She has been clear about how she wants her public identity to be understood. “At the end of the day, I am a TV host. I’m not a reality star,” she told Vogue in 2023. It is a distinction she maintains consistently — present in celebrity culture, but defined by her professional role rather than her personal relationships.
What Is Next for Maya Jama
The Love Island contract has not been publicly confirmed or denied for future series beyond what has already aired. The show’s continued success and her critical reception make renewal the logical assumption, though ITV contracts of this nature are typically negotiated series by series.
Her business ventures have room to scale. Sproud is a growing brand in a growing market. MIJ Masks has an established audience. Her stated ambition to be known as an entrepreneur is the clearest signal of where her long-term attention is directed.
The Ruben Dias relationship, if it continues and results in relocation to Manchester, would represent a genuine lifestyle shift with potential implications for her London-based media career. Presenting from Manchester is not unusual — several major shows and networks operate from MediaCityUK in Salford — but it would mark the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.
At 31, with a net worth of £3 million to £5 million and growing, she is at the point in a presenter’s career where the decisions made in the next two to three years tend to define the decade that follows.
The Takeaway
Maya Jama built her wealth the slow way — BBC Radio 1 before Love Island, YouTube before Vogue, MIJ Masks before Dolce & Gabbana. The Love Island deal arrived because she had already done enough to deserve it, and the brands followed because the show made her visible to audiences that had not yet encountered her.
The £3 million to £5 million net worth is the outcome of ten years of consistent work across radio, television, and business. The next ten years will be built on what she does with it.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Maya Jama’s net worth in 2026? Maya Jama’s net worth is estimated between £3 million and £5 million as of 2026. She confirmed becoming a millionaire at 24, before her Love Island hosting deal. Her cumulative earnings from nine Love Island series, brand deals, and business ventures have grown that figure significantly.
How much does Maya Jama earn from Love Island? Estimates put her Love Island salary at around £600,000 per series, though the exact figure has never been officially confirmed. Across nine series including Love Island Games and All Stars formats, her cumulative hosting earnings are estimated at over £6 million in total.
What businesses does Maya Jama own? Two: MIJ Masks, her skincare brand launched in 2021 and valued at over £300,000, and a co-ownership stake in Sproud, a Swedish plant-based milk brand. She has described her long-term ambition as being known as an entrepreneur alongside her presenting career.
Who is Maya Jama dating? Maya Jama has been dating Manchester City defender Ruben Dias since late 2024, their relationship going public after the MTV EMAs in Manchester. She was previously in relationships with Stormzy (split 2019, briefly rekindled 2023, split again July 2024) and NBA player Ben Simmons.
How did Maya Jama become famous? Through a decade of consistent presenting work — BBC Radio 1, MTV, Glow Up, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, the BRIT Awards, and Walk the Line — before being announced as Love Island host in October 2022. She became a millionaire at 24 before the Love Island deal arrived, building her reputation across radio and television rather than via social media alone.
