Stormzy has spoken about his relationship with Maya Jama for the first time after the couple reunited.
The 30-year-old rapper and the TV personality started dating in 2015, but after four years they went their separate ways in 2019.
Opening up about the relationship breakdown, Stormzy - real name Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. - told Louis Theroux: “My break-up, that was probably the biggest catalyst for growth as a man. It was like, OK, you made a mistake and you lose someone you loved, someone you cared for, someone who is special to you.
“That's probably the biggest loss a man can have, isn't it? Away from someone passing away, that's the biggest loss you can have.
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“The whole f**king palaver that surrounded that situation, do you know what I mean? There were other things in terms of mistakes I’d made. I didn’t do what a man should do to fully appreciate love, and care for his woman.”
Although the pair kept their reasons for the split private, Stormzy has previously stressed that it wasn’t due to infidelity.
When asked about allegations of cheating by HOT 97, he said: "D'you know what? It's good that you asked me this. I didn't cheat. I didn't cheat!
"It's so mad because even with the song - I made a song called 'Lessons' addressing the situation. And since the situation happened, there was a lot of, like, 'You're a cheat!'
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"With the song, I kind of just stepped out and [took] full accountability. [What I actually did was] a big disrespect.
“It was very inconsiderate. It didn't need for it to be cheating for it to be a disrespect. But I thought now was a good time to say that I didn't cheat on my ex."
Rumours of a reunion swirled last year, when they were spotted together at the GQ Men of the Year 2022 awards.
But Jama was quick to shut down speculation, with a representative for the star saying at the time: "The reports about the romance being rekindled are untrue."
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They added that the pair 'remain great friends'.
However, the couple appeared to confirm they were very much back on after they were pictured holding hands while on holiday together in Greece earlier this year.
The duo have opted to remain closed-lipped when it comes to their relationship this time around, but Stormzy did address it in a recent interview with Vogue.
He said: “We were so public the first time round, somewhere down the line my spirit started resisting… so I’m not gonna speak on it.”
Fair enough.
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When questioned about the photos, he added: “We were just living la vida loca. Lapse of judgement for an hour!”
Claire Reid