Miss Universe Australia Maria Thattil had no idea who Joey Essex was on I’m a Celebrity

They’re the glamorous love story of ‘I’m A Celebrity’ — but Maria Thattil said UK reality star Joey Essex was a mystery to her from the start.

Miss Universe Australia Maria Thattil has admitted she had no idea who British reality star Joey Essex was when they first met.

The pair are the ‘love story’ of this season of the Aussie show with the romance set to escalate over coming episodes.

“I had no concept of who he was so when I was getting to know him, I wasn’t getting to know ‘Joey Essex’ the character,” Thattil told Confidential. “I am not overly impressed or flustered by that side of things. It is more, are you a nice, kind, attractive person that I am vibing? Cool, let’s enjoy that. It didn’t really phase me because I had no idea who he was.”

Joey Essex and Maria Thattil have become the love story of this season’s I'm A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!

Thattil, 28, and Essex, 31, quickly formed a strong bond on his arrival as an intruder in the second episode of I’m A Celebrity …

The show was shot in northern NSW near Byron Bay at the end of last year with Thattil now back at home in Melbourne and Essex in the UK.

“We are still in contact,” Thattil said, careful not to give too much away.

Thattil explained that romance blossomed through their budding friendship.

Joey Essex and Maria Thattil getting steamy in the jungle.

“We genuinely just got along really well,” she said. “It was a lot of banter but a lot of genuine getting to know someone type conversations. In that environment, you are stripped of everything, you are starving and uncomfortable, so to find someone in the camp that you do have a rapport with, and there is that little bit of cheekiness and playful flirting, it was just comfortable. I was drawn to that energy we had between us, we were definitely attracted to each other.”

Meanwhile, Thattil has spoken of the fact she is used to being underestimated.

Measuring 160cm tall (5’3) and born to Indian migrant parents, Thattil broke cultural stereotypes when she made it to the top 10 of the Miss Universe international beauty pageant in 2021.

Now, she is tackling stereotypes on reality television.

Former Miss Universe Australia Maria Thattil in Melbourne. Picture: Alex Coppel.

“I am doing this because I want to shake things up,” she said of I’m A Celebrity. “When I was growing up, I searched for myself in television, in books, in magazines … in all of these arenas and I could not find myself. And when you have limited representation, it genuinely impacts not only the way the world sees you but the way you see yourself. I don’t just represent people of colour … I represent anybody who feels like they are on the fringes and like they don’t fit the mould. I think I am showing people if there is no seat at the table, create your own table. You don’t have to justify the space you take up. Visibility matters.”

Thattil has been vocal in her push for diversity in beauty pageants, and media in general.

As a kid growing up, the only representation she could see on television was that of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon on American animated series, The Simpsons.

“That only led to more cultural insensitivity and racial stereotypes,” she explained. “When you are growing up with that, you just don’t think the media landscape and concept of our national identity includes you. I never aspired to a media career for that reason, which is why I did psychology management and worked in corporate HR before taking a risk.”

Thattil says she is using her exposure in the reality show to tackle stereotypes. Picture: Alex Coppel.

Thattil believes it is “a big thing” to have been cast on I’m A Celebrity and is hoping her appearance will make others feel less alone.

To her critics, most claiming she is not tall enough for a beauty pageant or that she does not represent all Australian women, she said: “If people have something to say, it is always an opportunity to show people you can choose to respond with compassion.”

She continued: “I’ve seen some negative comments and I welcome that because Miss Universe does not have to look how you were expecting. She does not have to be a six foot tall white glamazon, she can be a smart, short, woman of colour who is still Australian. It challenges the concept of national identity, it will start conversations in people’s homes.”