Ruben Dias denies cheating allegations after split from Maya Jama

Ruben Dias has publicly denied cheating on Maya Jama, releasing a statement on social media after persistent reports about the circumstances of their split drew his 85-year-old grandfather into the story. The Manchester City defender and Love Island presenter separated several weeks ago after roughly 18 months together.

Dias said the moment his grandfather began questioning him about infidelity reports he had seen in the news was the point at which he felt compelled to speak out. “I feel that when my 85-year-old grandad is asking me if I’ve cheated on my girlfriend, because he’s seen it repeatedly on the news, that’s where I draw the line on what’s acceptable and what’s not,” he wrote.

The £65 million centre-back was unequivocal in his denial. “A lie told often enough can start to feel like the truth and for that reason I tell you that I didn’t cheat, nor did I ever have the intention or temptation to,” he said. “I believe Maya deserves all the respect in the world.”

Dias was also careful to frame the break-up as mutual and amicable, pushing back against any narrative that one party had wronged the other. “The reasons why we broke up are private and belong to us and we’ve both dealt with it in a very mature way,” he wrote. “I’ve always chosen to remain silent on these matters as my personal life is my business only. But I also believe it’s wrong to lie to people and to portray an opposite image of someone just for clickbait. Respect me, respect Maya, and understand that not always one has to betray the other in order for a relationship to end.”

The pair are widely believed to have met at the MTV European Music Awards in Manchester in late 2023. Their separation became public when followers noticed both had removed shared photographs from their social media accounts.

A source close to the couple previously told The Sun that careers had played a significant role in the decision to part. “Maya and Ruben had a wonderful time together and there’s still a lot of love and respect between them,” the source said. “But with both of their careers going into overdrive this summer, they realised that the relationship had run its course and it was better to separate. Maya is heading into an intense filming schedule and Ruben’s focus is fully on the World Cup, so they’ve decided to part ways.”