Former Love Island star Maura Higgins reunited with her friend Lisa Rinna at a Traitors event in Los Angeles on Friday evening. The 35-year-old reality television personality met up with cast members at the presentation after arriving in the U.S. to join Dancing With The Stars.
The two stars caught up at The Traitors: FYC Presentation during the TV Academy 2026 Televerse Festival, held at the JW Marriott hotel. Higgins and Rinna both previously appeared on season four of the show, where they formed a close friendship.
During the event, Higgins wore a white peplum top featuring a feathered hem, paired with white trousers and stilettos. She styled her brunette hair poker straight and wore glamorous makeup.
Rinna, 63, wore a black dress with a leather jacket and heels. The Real Housewives star styled her short hair in a voluminous quiff as she and Higgins laughed together while posing for photographs on the red carpet.
Red carpet appearance
The pair also spent time with several other cast members at the event. Attendees included Rob Cesternino, Monét X Change, Tara Lipinski, Rob Rausch and Eric Nam.
Higgins posed alongside Rausch following their flirty friendship during their time on the show.
Move to California
Higgins began her relocation to California on Tuesday to prepare for the ABC competition show Dancing With The Stars. She arrived at the airport with 10 bags of luggage after saying goodbye to friends over the weekend.
Before departing, Higgins revealed she accidentally broke a mirror while packing her bags. She also celebrated her upcoming move on Sunday with friends during an afternoon of drinks and karaoke.
Her friends presented her with American-themed gifts, including an AI-generated picture showing her holding the Dancing With The Stars glitterball trophy. Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Higgins posted on Instagram Stories that she went straight into a fashion shoot.
Dancing partner controversy
Although Higgins expressed excitement about joining the show, she sparked controversy by discussing potential dance partners. She stated that she does not want to be paired with Russian professional dancer Gleb Savchenko.
Higgins said she disagrees with the way Savchenko talks about women. She explained that she wants to remain loyal to her close friend Brooks Nader, 29, who previously dated Savchenko after appearing on the show.
In comments to E! News, Higgins said, "I'd be happy with anyone but Gleb. That's only because I'm loyal and I'm friends with Brooks [Nader]." She added, "I don't really like the way he speaks about women. I don't really want to spend all my time with someone like that. I'm like, no thank you." Higgins expressed hope that she will instead be paired with Valentin Chmerkovskiy, teasing a potential pairing in a video.
Gleb Savchenko response
Savchenko responded to Higgins in a statement to the Daily Mail, saying he had never heard of her before the comments were published. He insisted he will not "lose any sleep over the opinion of someone I've never met."
Savchenko added: "Until I was asked to comment on this story, I'd genuinely never heard of this girl, Maura, so I'm certainly not going to lose any sleep over the opinions of someone I've never met. It's odd to publicly attack someone you've never even met, but if that's how she wants to make headlines before the show starts, that's her choice. I'll stay focused and leave the unnecessary drama to everyone else."
Previous relationship history
Savchenko and Nader experienced a messy split after starting a romance while partnered together on Dancing With The Stars in 2024. Their relationship began in the fall of 2024, but Nader suggested in an October 2024 TikTok clip that they had parted ways.
An insider told US Weekly in the fall of 2024 that Savchenko had become too comfortable spending time at Nader's home, causing concern among her family and people close to her. They appeared back on track the following month when Nader welcomed him to her family Thanksgiving dinner.
The pair parted ways again in April last year, with Savchenko telling Page Six he was caught off-guard by the split. Savchenko also claimed to Dakota Mortensen, ex of reality television star Taylor Frankie Paul, that dating Nader involved "probably the worst sex of my life" and claimed the Louisiana-born beauty took things to a rough level he was uncomfortable with.
