After the entire camp had to attempt to scoop two kilos of peanuts out of a bucket, Maria found herself in the bottom three of the challenge alongside Tottie Goldsmith and Nathan Buckley. The three then had to go head-to-head in a critter counting challenge, sliding their hands into a box that they couldn’t see into which contained a whole mess of scorpions.
Both Tottie and Maria undershot their guesses, but with just two scorpions between them, sadly it was Maria whose guess was the furthest away, ending her time in the jungle.
With Tottie and Nathan returning to camp, many of the celebs were in tears, with an especially emotional David and Joey both mourning the loss of their number one.
Meanwhile, Maria admitted she was feeling a lot happier than she expected to be out of the camp.
“I thought I would be sad having left earlier than what I would have liked to but I think I showed myself and made some lifelong friends,” she told Chris and Julia.
During her time in the jungle Maria became fast friends with David Subritzky, but it was her romance with Joey Essex that truly got eyebrows wagging. So, is there a future for Joey and his salty potato outside of the jungle?
READ MORE: ‘It’s Official’: Jungle Romance Heats Up As Maria Thatill And Joey Essex Pash In Camp
“We agreed that the jungle, under the microscope, it was just pushing things a little bit. Just thought, let’s just save it for the outside and see what happens... you never know, we’ll just wait and see,” she teased.
But her relationship with Joey wasn’t the only revelation, Maria also admitted that during her time in the jungle she was also able to finally open up and speak about her sexual identity. During a chat with David, Maria spoke about the attractions she has had to women in the past, but while speaking to Chris and Julia she admitted that she had never openly identified as bisexual until this moment.
Maria’s chosen charity, Minus18, supports young people in the LGBTQ+ community.
"I consider myself bisexual and I’ve never said it before, so this is the first time saying it out loud in this way and it’s taken 28 years to get rid of that shame and just admit that.
“No one deserves to live their life thinking that they don’t deserve the same rights, dignities and freedoms because of who they love. So, I love what [Minus18] do for their community because Aussie youths from that community are really vulnerable and they need all the help.”
You can find out more about Minus18 and all the charities the celebrities are supporting here.
