Love Island host Maya Jama’s body art tends to mix personal symbolism, deep emotional meaning, and fun, spontaneous pieces. The 31-year-old’s tattoos aren’t just cosmetic, they reflect relationships, identity, heritage, and important emotional milestones in her life
Love Island host Maya Jama is known for sometimes wearing some outfits as skimpy as some of the contestants on the ITV2 show. So you may have noticed some of her tattoos and inkings on display and wondered what they actually mean.
Maya’s body art tends to mix personal symbolism, deep emotional meaning, and fun, spontaneous pieces. The 31-year-old’s tattoos aren’t just cosmetic, they reflect relationships, identity, heritage, and important emotional milestones in her life. Find out more about her specific inkings below, including her heartbreaking tribute to her late boyfriend Rico Gordon and her cartoon-style matching friendship tattoos.
Heritage tattoo
Love Island fans may have noticed Love Island host Maya got a new heritage tattoo inking in 2025.
The design features the outlines of three countries — Scotland, Sweden, and Somalia — on her upper arm.
This ink celebrates Maya’s mixed cultural heritage — her Scottish and Swedish family roots from her mother’s side and her Somali heritage from her father’s side. It’s a personal and proud emblem of where she comes from.
Lion inking
Another tattoo she has is a lion silhouette inked on her ankle (back of her ankle/foot area).
It represents her star sign Leo and was done on a spontaneous, hangover-inspired trip with a friend.
Maya has joked about the impromptu nature of getting it but said she’s happy with the symbolic connection to her zodiac.
Sharing a clip on TikTok back in January 2024, Maya was seen at a tattoo parlour, as she told fans: “So we have basically decided to get a tattoo on a hangover.
” I didn’t know what I wanted until about two seconds ago. I’ve decided to get a lion. “
Wearing a pair of blue denim shorts as the artist got to work, Maya smiled despite the pain as she added to her collection in South Africa.
Initials tribute design
The star has the initials” RG “inked beneath her ribcage. This is a personal tribute to her late boyfriend Rico Gordon, who tragically died in 2011.
This tattoo is rarely shown in public photos, but it holds deep significance for her.
Rico, from London, was shot dead after finding himself in the wrong place at the wrong time back in July 2011. Maya – who was 16 at the time – was on the phone to him as the nightmare unfolded.
Speaking about her boyfriend’s death, Maya once said:” That’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. It was unreal – the sort of thing that happens in films.
“The experience gave me so much motivation to push with my career. At the time, work was the only thing that made me happy, so I just kept on going with it.
” Bad things happen, but you’ve got to try to make good things out of that tough situation. That’s what it taught me. “
Friendship matching tattoos
Maya also also has small cartoon-style faces with tongues sticking out on her wrists, which are part of a set of matching tattoos with two close friends, which she got inked back in November, 2023. They’re a light-hearted symbol of long-term friendship and bonding.
Maya posted them online at the timewith the caption, ‘ For life gang’.
Script tattoo
Source: Mirror
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