Love Island’s Maura Higgins blames herself for best friend’s death two years ago: ‘It is the hardest thing I have ever had to deal with’

Love Island’s Maura Higgins’ best friend Andrew Rowan died in a motorbike crash two years ago, with the star blaming herself for his tragic passing.

Maura has revealed that she turned down dinner plans with Andrew on the night of his death, which is something she regrets to this day.

The 28 year old admitted her regret that she "couldn't be bothered" to get out of her pyjamas and go out with her friend, who died when his motorbike collided with three cars in Athlone in Ireland.

The popular TV star said she used to believe there's a chance Andrew would still be alive if she had gone out with him that evening.

She told Life magazine: "For so long, I used to think that if I had gone for dinner with him that day, when he had asked, he wouldn't have been on that motorbike.

"My family kept saying to me, 'Maura, you can't think like this, it was going to happen', but I just kicked myself for so long and got worked up about it for so long."

She added: "It is the hardest thing I have ever had to deal with."

Maura explained that Andrew arrived to her house on his motorbike to see if she wanted to get dinner, but she was already ready for bed.

She said: "He had finished work early and and he asked me to go to dinner with him and I said, 'I couldn't be bothered'. I told him I was in my pyjamas , I wasn't getting dressed."

"He arrived down on the motorbike. I asked him, 'Why are you on the motorbike?' Because he never used to drive it, and he said 'Oh, it's a good day [to drive it], you know?' And then he left."

Maura’s longterm boyfriend at the time, James, had to break the tragic news to her, which she describes as a “blur”.

She said: “It was a blur, I think I was in shock for a lot of it. I didn't break down properly until late into that night.

"I was still sitting on my sofa and James was with me, and I remember something came into my head and just hit me, and I couldn't physically breathe. I was having such a panic attack. It took me a long, long time to be okay again."

Maura – who went on a romantic break with beau Curtis Pritchard recently – said the death of her best friend makes her think about life and her future in a different way.

She said: "I look at life very, very differently now, and I don't plan ahead too much because you never know what's around the corner. You just have to live every day as it comes.

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Maura Higgins

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"Andrew was my rock. I know that probably sounds mad but… I even think right now that he is behind a lot of this. I really do believe that."

Maura paid tribute to childhood friend Andrew on her Instagram day after his death.

She wrote: “Words will never ever explain the heartbreak my best-friend, my brother, my rock my world will never ever be the same without you. I Love you maddog."

Like Maura, Andrew was also from Longford and was close to the star and her sisters Becki and Louise after growing up together.

At the time of his death, Maura’s sister Becki said of Andrew: “He was the most generous, fun-loving and caring person I've ever met. He would drop his whole life to make me happy.

"We went everywhere together, he hated sitting around always wanted to be off having fun."

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