Maura Higgins is stepping into a new spotlight after being announced as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars US. For the former Love Island star, the move marks another turn in a career that has kept shifting from one high-pressure television setting to the next.
What does Maura Higgins joining Dancing with the Stars US mean?
The announcement was made during Hulu’s Get Real House event in Los Angeles on Wednesday, placing maura higgins among the celebrity names set for the 35th season of the American series. The reaction was framed with showmanship, with Alfonso Ribeiro, one of the DWTS hosts, saying: “A brand new bombshell is entering the ballroom. ”
For Higgins, the moment carried a clear emotional charge. Speaking after the announcement, she called it a “surreal moment” and described freezing in JFK airport when her American agent called. She said she was in tears and could not walk or speak, adding that she had wanted the opportunity “for so long. ”
How has Maura Higgins built this US profile?
Maura Higgins first gained prominence on the fourth season of Love Island UK, and her path since then has moved steadily across reality television. The context around this latest casting shows a performer who has already spent time in the US market, including work hosting the spin-off of the US version of Love Island, Aftersun.
Her recent appearance on The Traitors US season four also deepened that profile. She reached the final as a faithful and finished as runner-up. The show also put her in the middle of one of its defining tensions: a close bond with Rob Rausch, who was a traitor and ultimately took the prize money in the final, leaving Higgins shocked.
That sequence matters because it gives the ballroom move a broader meaning. maura higgins is not arriving as an unknown face, but as someone who has already learned how to carry her public image through competition, performance, and reaction. The cast announcement builds on that recognition rather than creating it from scratch.
Why does this role fit her current career direction?
The latest chapter fits a pattern in which Higgins has continued to work in prominent entertainment spaces beyond her first breakthrough. The context shows that she also appeared on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here in 2024, where she finished seventh. This year, she added another layer with her debut on the Golden Globes red carpet in January and a later appearance on the Baftas carpet.
There is also a direct sense of narrowing and intention in her own words. Higgins said that after DWTS she is probably done, while adding “never say never. ” She described it as the only other show she had wanted to do as a contestant, suggesting that the opportunity sits at the center of a long-held career wish rather than a casual next step.
That gives the move a human dimension beyond television branding. It is about a performer who has spent years being watched, judged, and discussed, now entering a format where timing, stamina, and public appetite all matter at once. The ballroom brings pressure, but it also offers a clear stage for reinvention.
What happens next for Maura Higgins?
The DWTS announcement post welcomed Maura Higgins to the show on ABC, Disney+, and Hulu this fall, positioning her within a season that is already drawing attention through its celebrity lineup. The post also summed up her trajectory in one line: she went from looking for love to looking for who to trust, and now she is looking to win the Mirrorball.
That line captures why the casting stands out. It links the dating-show origins of her fame with the survival instincts of a recent competition and the discipline required for a dance contest. For Higgins, it is a public test that feels both familiar and new.
Back in the airport where she took the call, the moment was private even as it pointed toward a very public fall. maura higgins had already turned heads on reality television; now she is being asked to do it again, this time on the ballroom floor, with the spotlight fixed squarely on how far she can go.
