Stormzy’s Girlfriend Maya Jama: Everything You Need To Know
She might be ‘Stormzy’s girlfriend Maya Jama’ but there’s so many other reasons why she’s one of the ‘IT girls’ of our generation…
Unlike other ‘influencers’ with an online presence, she isn’t just leading by example on the fashion or beauty front, but is using her platform for the greater good.
Her mental health advocacy and her transparent Insta feed brings her back to down to the reality of her following, yet allows us to identify with her on a deeper level – more than just aspiring to be her because of her ridiculous good looks and figure!
Here’s everything you might not have known about the 24 year old, whose mission is to remain as true to herself as she can whilst still taking the media (and world) by storm(zy)…
Image Source/ Instagram
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1. Maya Jama Is An Advocate For Mental Health
Her boyfriend of four years- and the UK’s biggest grime artist ‘Stormzy’-opened up about his own struggles with mental illness:
“Depression was a world that was so alien to me. I just used to think, you get up and march on. So for me, I felt that if I needed to address that, what I was going through.”
Forcing Maya to face up to the societal problem that was hitting her closer to home:
“I’ve got at least five people around me who have, for the last two years, been going through stuff.”
Instead of shying away from the problem, or even just dealing with it personally, she decided to use her reach to raise awareness and actually HELP others who were struggling.
Today I’m hosting The Worlds Largest Mental Health Lesson (Guinness world record attempt) so excited to be involved in something so amazing!
— Maya Jama (@MayaJama) March 21, 2017
Image Source/ Twitter
Actions speak louder than words as they say!
now more than ever we are beginning to openly talk about mental health an slowly destroying the stigma events like this are key for change🙌🏾
— Maya Jama (@MayaJama) March 21, 2017
Image Source/ Twitter
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She went on to reveal that she herself suffers with anxiety, ever since finding herself in the spotlight:
“My anxiety comes from people watching me more and knowing more about me. It’s like getting on a train and not knowing if someone’s trying to take a sneaky picture.”
2. She’s Got Her OWN Prime-Time Slot On BBC Radio One
If you’re in to the radio, you’ll probably know this one already. Stormzy girlfriend Maya Jama has landed herself a slot on one of the UK’s biggest stations, on Friday and Saturday mornings (10-1pm, if you’re wondering).
If you’ve heard her speak, you’ll know she’s got a distinct, rather husky but warming voice that is just PERFECT for the radio. You know those people whose voice you’d recognise before their face? She’s one of them!
Image Source/ Instagram
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3. She Has Somali And Swedish Roots
There’s no denying she’s been blessed with some pretty good genes- I wouldn’t mind waking up looking like her anyway. Specifically, she has her Somali- Swedish roots to thank for her features, the features that have undoubtedly earned her the impressive following she has across social media platforms.
Image Source/ Instagram
4. Her Ex-Boyfriend Was Shot Dead In A Pub
Quite a change of tone, I know. Maya found herself in the middle of an actual nightmare- one you’re only used to seeing on the films- as she reflected on the tragedy:
“That’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. It was unreal – the sort of thing that happens in films.”
Stormzy girlfriend Maya Jama revealed that this dark part of her past is one of the things that prompted her to succeed in her career, after throwing herself in to the ‘only thing that made her happy’.
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5. She Doesn’t Call Stormzy By His Stage Name
This one doesn’t come as a surprise, surely? I’m sure (or I’d hope), that Snoop Dogg’s other half doesn’t shout him down for tea with ‘Dogg, your tea’s ready!’
Maya doesn’t actually even address her rapper boyfriend by his birth name either (Michael Omari):
“I definitely don’t call him Stormzy. Unless I have to talk about him on the radio then I have to, which always feels a bit weird.”
Image Source/ PopsugarUK
Instead, she has a bit of pet name for him:
“Mals – it’s a stupid nickname but it would take too long to explain.”
She also admitted that she finds herself having to defend their relationship because they choose to keep it separate to their careers (and off social media). In this day and age, if people haven’t seen a pair pictured together or a cringe caption for a couple of weeks, they suspect the worst.
“I just want to focus on my career and I know he wants to focus on his and not let [us] be the thing.”
We FULLY respect that. Instagram is littered with enough ‘couple goals’ (who probably had an argument minutes before their self- timed pic) anyway…
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6. Stormzy’s Girlfriend Likes To Keep Her Relationship Private (Kind Of)
She revealed that for the first year and a half of their relationship- after meeting the Grime artist at a Red Bull party- they managed to not let the media or internet in on it. But, after Stormzy wrote ‘Birthday Girl’ for Jama on her 22nd birthday, the mystery girl behind the bars was revealed in his music video.
Now everyone knows, they’re more open to sharing on social media- but their thing is they never ‘flaunt’ it…
Image Source/ Instagram
“He’s in my Snapchats, but we’re trying not to be an in your face couple. If we were two people who worked in Sainsbury’s, we’d be in each other’s Snapchat. We just do what normal people do.”
When you put it like that…
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7. Maja Jama Is Estranged From Her Jailbird Dad
Things might all look to be flying for Stormzy’s girlfriend Maya – her career, relationship, her online presence- but, there are some problems behind closed doors that she’s still dealing with.
Her Dad has been in and out of jail, serving short, consistent sentences for as long as she can remember. Opening up about her childhood, she recalls being driven long distances to go and visit him in prison:
“I wanted to be with my friends, and, instead, I’d have to go on this long drive to see my dad. I started to think, he should make more of an effort to stay out of jail.“
It’s a fair point.
Video Source/ Youtube
She actually managed to turn her story in to a documentary (which she of course presented herself). In this she recruited others who had been let down by their parents.
During filming, Stormzy’s girlfriend decided to meet him as he’s been out of prison for the past couple of years now. Their conversation didn’t go as she’d planned, leaving her with the same questions:
“I would have loved a relationship with him but it doesn’t come naturally right now. Don’t feel like reaching out to him really. Suppose it would be different if I saw him get a proper job and sort himself out.”
It’s not all bad though, Jama is aware of what she’s learnt from their lack of relationship:
“I think my independence comes from him…It gives you a kind of inner strength; it makes you realise that no one will be there for ever. You only really have yourself to rely on.”
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Image Source/ Dailymail
Another thing you might not know about the presenter is she seems to like a puff or two, joining the endless list of celebs who you wouldn’t imagine to have this habit!
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8. Her Mum Named Her After A Civil Rights Activist And Poet
Whilst her Mum was pregnant with the presenter, she turned to the memoir ‘I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings’, by poet Maya Angelou. She loved the poet’s work that much that she chose to name her daughter after her.
9. Maja Jama Hasn’t Always Been A London Girl
Maya was actually raised in Bristol, by her Swedish Mum (who honestly could pass for her sister).
Image Source/Instagram
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When she was only sixteen Maja moved to London to pursue her dream of being a presenter, with the aim of making it in to mainstream media by the age of 25 – being one of the hardest jobs to acquire – she certainly had a task on her hands.
Being only 24, Stormzy’s girlfriend well and truly smashed that goal out of the park.
With her own slot on BBC radio, and a few TV shows including her one of her biggest gigs with the show ‘The Circle’, broadcast on Channel 4, she’s crafted quite the resume since the big move.
Before breaking in to mainstream media and starting her broadcasting career, she’s always had a bit of an online presence, making videos on Youtube and tweeting since she was about 16.
Once she’d made the decision to up sticks and move herself to London for more chance of auditions and jobs, she admitted she felt pressure to succeed:
“I didn’t want to move back because I was like, “sh** I’ve told everyone I’m going to be really successful and if I go back I’m going to be really embarrassed.” So that’s what pushed me to stay [in London].”
Well, that risk certainly paid off!
It appears the young stars are the up and coming millionaires of this era, each coming with their own impressive net worth (take Joey Essex for example!).
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