SHE is flying high as a host on prime-time TV, but Maya Jama has not stopped blaming herself for the death of her first love.
She was just 16 when boyfriend Rico Gordon, 21, was caught in the crossfire of a gunfight between two gangs in Bristol in 2011.
In an exclusive interview, his mum Anna reveals the effect his killing had on the presenter and former Radio 1 DJ.
And she tells how her son, who aspired to be a teacher, was on the phone to Maya trying to get directions to her house when the violence erupted.
Stunning Maya, 27, has been lighting up screens all this week as the host of Simon Cowell’s new ITV show Walk The Line.
Care worker Anna, 55, told The Celeb Report on Sunday: “Maya and Rico were deeply in love and they were a beautiful couple, always laughing and joking around.
“It was only after they recovered Rico’s phone that I could fully appreciate how in love they were. There were so many photos of them hugging and kissing.
“There is a big church that you can see from the balcony of my house and Maya told me they were planning on getting married there.
“They hadn’t set a date or anything, as they were so young but they had visited the church and both agreed it was the perfect place for their wedding.
“It breaks my heart to say that the next time she went to that church it was not for their wedding, but for Rico’s funeral.
“Rico was interested in becoming a PE teacher and he fully supported Maya in her career.
“He would have backed her all the way.”
Maya joined Anna to go on BBC Crimewatch to appeal for witnesses after Rico’s death.
She tearfully described her boyfriend, who was visiting her in her home city for the weekend, as: “The nicest person I’ve ever met. The person I’d think about when I’d wake up, the last person I’d speak to when I went to bed.”
She also recalled hearing the moment he was shot dead, saying: “I thought that maybe he’d dropped his phone because I heard a bang but it could have been his phone falling on the floor.”
More recently, Maya has opened up about how his death made her even more determined to carve out a successful career in showbiz.
She said: “With my boyfriend passing, it gave me a fearless approach. I felt like life was really short.
“At 16 you think the world is a fairytale and it took me out of that. It made me even more determined.”
Mum-of-three Anna took Maya to her four-bedroom house in Notting Hill, West London, after the tragedy so that she could live in Rico’s bedroom and grieve with his family and friends.
She said: “Maya blamed herself after what happened, but then everyone blamed themselves. She tried to con-vince Rico to stay in London that day.
“Rico didn’t know Bristol well and there are some dodgy parts so Maya thought it would be better if he stayed in London.
“There was a carnival that weekend and a few people were driving up, including my daughter Calita, who is two years older than Rico. Rico didn’t want to go because he didn’t like big crowds. Maya told him, ‘Don’t come, just stay home’.
“There was a boxing match that night and a few of his friends agreed they would watch it on Sky at mine.
“Then, at the last minute, Rico decided to come to Bristol to see Maya. You always think, ‘What if he had just stayed home?’.
“Maya cries every time she talks about what happened.”
In 2012, Shakah Anderson, then 31, of no fixed address, and Rickel Adams, then 27, of Neasden, North London, were found guilty of Rico’s murder and given life sentences.
A third shooter has never been identified.
Fighting back tears, Anna continued: “I think Rico saw Maya first, early in the evening, and then his friend said, ‘Let’s go for one drink’.
“They went to this pub and Rico didn’t like it straight away. He had only been to Bristol once, so he didn’t know the city. An argument started and Rico said, ‘I’m going’.
“He walked outside to find a cab then he called Maya to get directions to her mum’s house.
“On the CCTV footage you can see a group of people come out of the pub and start shooting.
“Everyone scattered and my daughter later found Rico lying on the road.
“He was still breathing. My daughter tried to call an ambulance and her friend called me and said, ‘Rico has been shot’.
“I was at home with my youngest son, Moses. I got angry and said, ‘That’s not a funny joke, you lot are drunk’.
“But then I heard my daughter in the background saying, ‘Breathe Rico, breathe’.
“My friend took me to the police station in Bristol and when I arrived there — I will never forget — they called us into a room and told us he had died.
“When they took me to the morgue to identify his body, his hand was still clutching the phone he was using to call Maya.”
Maya went on to find fame and fortune on radio and TV.
She dated rapper Stormzy, 28, from 2016 to 2019 and is now seeing Australian-born basketball pro Ben Simmons, 25.
But Anna, who was born in Sweden just like Maya’s mum Sadie, still remembers the time she could only dream of being famous and would pretend to be on MTV Cribs, a show about outlandish celebrity houses.
She said: “I know Maya is seeing someone now.
“But she always says that Rico is her first love and that will never change, no matter how famous she gets, and she never forgets his birthday on December 27.
“They first met at a friend’s house in Bristol and she told me that, out of all the boys, he was the only one that wasn’t on her. That’s what she liked about him.
Rico didn’t introduce me to her at first because he worried she was too young for him. One day I saw her coming up the stairs of my house.
“She said hi and that’s when I realised they were boyfriend and girlfriend.
“Maya would travel to London a lot to see Rico.
“They would be in his room playing Al Green songs and ordering Nando’s takeaways.
“Maya loved to sing and one day I saw them walking around the house pretending they were on MTV Cribs.
“I haven’t seen her new place yet but she has invited me over this month for a bit of me and her time and we call and text all the time.
“Maya is like family and she sees my son Moses, who is 23, as a little brother.
“She always asks, ‘Anna, are you proud of me?’.
I say, ‘I am so proud and Rico would be so proud of you too’.
“We are going to put a memorial bench in Powis Square in West London, close to the church where they wanted to get married, and I know Maya will come to see it.
“I tell her, ‘What I love about you is that fame hasn’t changed you’.
“She’s still the same person and most of her friends are the ones she met before she got famous.”
