Is this the brand new Strictly curse? Kai Widdrington and Maura Higgins cosy

Maura Higgins and Kai Widdrington got very handsy inside the Pride Of Britain Awards on Monday night.

The former Love Island star has had her fair share of links within the Strictly Come Dancing family.

In recent weeks, Maura has been linked to current Strictly contestant Pete Wicks, 36, after fueling romance rumours following a couple of cosy dates together.

She also shared a brief relationship with former professional Giovanni Pernice, 34, in 2021, but separated after four months. 

Now it seems Maura is adding another male to her Strictly square, as she appeared very close with pro dancer Kai.

Kai, 29, and Maura, 33, looked very close as they larked around after the ceremony, with the pro dancer tightly wrapping his arms around the presenter. 

At one point, Kai appeared to twirl Maura before heading into a different room together. 

Maura fueled romance rumours with Pete as the pair were spotted getting cosy at a London pub last month.

An onlooker exclusively told MailOnline that the pair were inseparable, whispering in each other’s ears and even interlocking legs as they enjoyed a drink alongside Wynne Evans, Tom Dean, and Jamie Borthwick.

The eyewitness shared: ‘They were all over each other, I was surprised to see them looking so close because I thought he had real chemistry with Jowita.

‘At one point they were basically straddling each other and didn’t seem to care at all that people could see them.

‘You’d think Pete would be more concerned about Tom given he’d just been given the boot on Strictly but he only had eyes for Maura all night!’

Romance rumours between the reality stars started swirling when they were pictured kissing outside the Broadwick Soho Hotel.

Maura then poked fun at the reports last month as she supported him at his Staying Relevant podcast tour.

In 2021, Maura’s ex-boyfriend Giovanni insisted ‘there was absolutely no wrongdoing’ in the reason they split.

At the time, Giovanni insisted that sometimes ‘great relationships with great people can come to a natural end’ which is what happened with him and Maura. 

He wrote: ‘Hey guys – I hope everyone had a great Monday. Going into another wonderful training week – thank you so much for your amazing messages & your support this weekend.

‘I get to live my dream every single day because of you – so thank you, thank you, thank you. I wanted to say a couple of things…

‘Firstly, great relationships with great people can come to a natural end. This has been the case for me recently. There was absolutely no wrong-doing and this should be the end of any speculation.

‘Whilst I respect and understand interest in my personal life, wouldn’t it be fantastic to instead use this space to raise awareness of subjects and issues which need the attention.

‘My eyes have been opened to so many things during my career. But I am learning so much from this series of Strictly.

‘The show has highlighted many important conversations for different communities and increased representation.

‘These are the conversations which deserve the time, energy and recognition. We must concentrate on what’s important and how we can all make a difference in life. Gio x’.

While Kai cosied up to Maura at the awards ceremony, his Strictly ex Nadiya Bychkova spoke out about their split earlier in the evening – as she arrived solo on the red carpet.

The dancers reportedly ended their two-year romance after ’emotionally drifting away from each other,’ with sources claiming the pressures of touring together took a toll on their relationship.

As Kai and Maura got close, Nadiya, 35, told The Mirror on the red carpet that she and Kai ‘aren’t friends’.

Asked whether she and Kai are still friends, Nadiya said: ‘We work together but we are not friends and that’s OK.

‘One thing I can tell you is that when you see me dancing with him it will be amazing because I’m a professional.’

In July, MailOnline confirmed Nadiya and Kai, who both compete on the BBC series, split in June, at the end of their lucrative tour Behind the Magic.

It has now been reported the couple were battling off-stage problems during their tour, and the pressure of being in each other’s space 24/7, eventually ‘took its toll’ on their relationship.

A friend of Kai and Nadiya told The Sun: ‘It’s heartbreaking. Kai and Nadiya seemed like the most perfect couple and have been so, so blissfully in love.

‘But the pressures of touring – being in each other’s space 24/7, and the stress of performing a sell-out show eventually took its toll.

‘They had been drifting emotionally for a while, and things actually came to a head during the tour – ironically called Behind The Magic – which, obviously, was incredibly problematic.’

Kai and Nadiya made the mutual decision to quit ‘after a rough few weeks’ once their tour finished, the source added.