Fomer Love Island star Maura Higgins remembered her late best friend, Andrew Rowan, in an emotional tribute on his anniversary.
There was speculation the star was heading back into the villa to join 2018 star Adam Collard as a bombshell after the Longford native appeared to go quiet on social media over the last few days.
But Maura returned to Instagram yesterday, apologising to fans for being quiet, saying she was taking time out to remember her late pal, Andrew, who died aged 26 after his motorbike collided with three cars in Athlone, Co Westmeath, in 2017.
Read More: Maura Higgins tipped to appear on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here
Maura shared a touching black and white video of the pair laughing and joking.
She captioned the post: “Sorry I’ve been mia… took some time to myself as it’s that time of year. Another year without my best friend. I love you and miss you,” she added.
Maura had previously told how she was left devastated after her pal’s horror crash. She opened up about her heartbreak and recalled that the moment she found out was a total "blur" as she went into shock.
Maura said that Andrew had asked her to go for dinner but she declined.
She said: "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."
"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 [ex boyfriend] 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 shared a tribute on her Instagram to her friend just days after he died writing: "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."
During a previous interview with the Longford Leader, Maura’s mother Sharon opened up about Andrew’s death and how it affected her daughter.
She said: “That was a very, very tough year for Maura. She really took that hard.”
“She reckons he’s always going to be her angel. The last thing she did before she left for Love Island was visit Andrew’s grave to speak to him.”
READ NEXT:
Professor Luke O'Neill says new Covid strain may be most infectious virus EVER
Sligo community devastated as granny who died in N15 crash named locally
Teen critical in hospital after falling off bonnet of car in Co Kerry
How much does it cost to run a fan as Met Eireann forecast 26C 'mini-heatwave'
Woman discovers she's been saying 'chest of drawers' wrong - and she's not alone
Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter
