Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Jessica Sansome

ITV Love Island's Maura Higgins hinted at Molly-Mae Hague's baby name option years ago with telling gift

Maura Higgins and Molly-Mae Hague have been best friends since meeting in the Love Island villa - even despite the former setting her sights on Tommy Fury in her bombshell moment - and it appears Maura hinted at Molly-Mae's unique choice of baby name for her first daughter before the influencer even discovered she was pregnant.

Molly-Mae and her boyfriend Tommy, who met and fell in love on the ITV2 dating show in 2019, announced earlier this week that they had welcomed their first child into the world. They confirmed that their daughter had been born on Monday (January 30) just as she turned a week old after making her entrance into the world on January 23.

The pair have since announced that their little girl is called Bambi. Molly-Mae, 23, shared a photo of her newborn daughter lying in her cot in her stunning white nursery, and her name was written in lights above the newborn. "Bambi" she wrote alongside a white love heart for her precious bundle of joy with Manchester boxer Tommy.

READ MORE: Stacey Solomon bares baby bump as she shares last pregnancy milestone in countdown to birth

Fans flocked to say they loved the Disney-inspired name and it comes after fans previously speculated that Molly-Mae was going to call her first child Cloud or Halo. Among those to respond was Paris Fury, who is married to Tommy's heavyweight boxing champion brother Tyson. She told Molly-Mae: "Her name is just as cute as her. Loved seeing yous today she is absolutely perfect x"

Bambi is a name of Italian origin and is thought to derive from the word 'bambino', which means 'child'. But others couldn't help but think of the deer made famous by the Disney classic. Some trolls also criticised the name Molly-Mae and Tommy had chosen for their firstborn child in the comments leading to Molly-Mae removing the option for people to have their say on her page.

While pregnant with Bambi, Molly-Mae teased how original the name was. "There was only ever one name for her. I've had it picked out for years and years," the creative director of Pretty Little Thing previously said.

Bambi was born on January 23 (Molly-Mae Hague/Instagram)

"Luckily Tommy loved it too (even if he hadn't I would've had to talk him round because like I say, there was only one ever name she was having." But it appears bestie Maura knew all along and teased what her pal planned to name her first child as they celebrated the new mum's birthday in 2021.

When Molly-Mae marked her 22nd birthday, Maura, 32, had a heartfelt gift for friend - a Disney mug adorned with an image of the cartoon deer Bambi and his loyal pal Thumper. "Only real ones know why this is special," Maura said at the time.

"Love you," Maura added as she celebrated Molly-Mae's big day nearly two years ago. And now fans think that this was a massive hint to the baby name now Molly-Mae and Tommy's baby girl is here.

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.