Barry McGuigan’s son has opened up on his romance with Maura Higgins, who is sharing the I’m a Celebrity jungle with the former professional boxer.

The former Love Island star made her appearance in the jungle as a late arrival alongside Reverend Richard Coles. Barry’s son Shane, 36, briefly dated Maura in May 2018 after the pair met when she was booked as a ring girl for the David Haye vs Tony Bellew rematch.

At the time, Shane was there covering the match for a radio show. However, since Maura, 34, lived in Ireland at the time and Shane was working and living in London, the pair split up amicably as they found the long distance relationship difficult.

Barry McGuigan with his son Shane ( 
Image:
@shanemcguigan/Instagram)
Shane appeared on Good Morning Britain today to chat about his father opening about his grief over the death of his daughter Danika, who passed away aged 33 following a short battle with cancer. On GMB, Shane also discussed if his dad Barry would get along with Maura, despite them never having met, the Daily Record reported.

Speaking to Richard Arnold about Barry and Maura meeting for the first time on the show, Shane said: “Maura as well she’s an Irish girl – she’s from a small town in Ireland – so they’re both from the sticks. They would have been growing up as kids in a small town so there would be similarities there.”

Shane said he also felt proud of his dad talking about his grief, as he heaped praise on Barry for being so open. “It was five years ago but it feels like yesterday. It doesn’t matter if he’s doing it in his living room or on national television. My dad’s brother Dermot took his own life, so I think Oti could have someone to lean on there,” he said.

Maura Higgins joined I’m a Celebrity as a late arrival ( 
Image:
ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
“I rang mum as well and she was emotional that he managed to get that comfort in the jungle. It’s a very strange situation. It’s great that they’ve all come together to support each other.” Shane is now engaged to Taylor West, a singer/songwriter from Buckinghamshire. They have two sons together – Finley, who was born in 2022, and Calean who they welcomed in 2024.

At the time of the romance between Maura and Shane, a source toldThe Sun: “Maura has brains and beauty and she quickly caught Shane’s eye. They got chatting and had instant chemistry so of course he asked her out.

“At the time Maura lived in Ireland, and Shane was running his boxing gym in London, and she was travelling a lot for work so it wasn’t easy to pull off.” They added: “There were no hard feelings when it ended. It turned out to be short lived and the spark fizzled out.”