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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Jamie Roberts

Maura Higgins and Joey Essex share steamy kiss and leave Pride of Britain Awards together

Maura Higgins and Joey Essex seemed to enjoy each other's company at the Pride of Britain Awards on Monday as they shared a smooch before leaving together in a taxi.

The Love Island alum, 31, and the former TOWIE man, 32, were spotted passionately kissing after the event in London.

As the ceremony came to a close, the pair were snapped smiling at each other before locking lips after Joey edged closer to the Irish beauty.

After the pair embraced in a hug, they soon headed off together and grabbed a taxi away from the venue with a number of pals.

Maura and Joey locked lips before leaving the event (justinpalmer_ldn / BACKGRID)
Joey and Maura shared a taxi together (MattPapz / BACKGRID)

Maura showcased a stunning Belle-style look as she turned into a real-life Disney princess. The reality TV star donned a glamorous frilly yellow tulle dress. The design, which sported a halter neck and was backless, hugged her figure perfectly and she opted to wear her hair pulled back with slight curls.

Joey meanwhile looked his usual dapper self in a smart suit with a white shirt and red tie combo.

Elsewhere in the day, Joey mixed it with Islanders from the latest series of the dating show. Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu shared a clip of the pair practicing their ice skating skills, before Joey repaid the favour and joked the Turkish delight was his 'personal assistant' for the night as she moved his bag into the lift ahead of the ceremony.

Joey and Ekin-Su prior to their appearance at the Pride of Britain Awards (Joey Essex /Instagram)
Joey was seated next to Antigoni Buxton (Joey Essex /Instagram)

Joey was still wearing a big bandage on the middle finger of his right hand after suffering an injury while training alongside Ekin-Su ahead of Dancing On Ice. At the time of the incident, Joey took to Instagram to share the wound with his followers.

He captioned the snaps: "Respect the ice, otherwise the ice will not respect you… Day 2".

Inside the Pride of Britain Awards, Joey was sat next to another Love Islander in Antigoni Buxton, who mocked him for having three helpings of the lavish dinner at the awards.

Joey injured his finger training for Dancing on Ice (being_kelsey/Instagram)
The injury came on only the second day of training (joeyessex/Instagram)

Maura and Joey's night of fun comes a year after she split with from her former Strictly Come Dancing beau Giovanni Pernice. The pair's whirlwind romance lasted four months but was said to have soured shortly after they decided to move in together.

At the time, Maura was reported to have been "absolutely devastated" by the breakdown in their relationship.

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