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Brooklyn Nets point guard Ben Simmons, 26, and Love Island star Maya Jama, 28, were engaged for eight months before calling it quits in the fall of 2022. With no wedding in sight, the NBA player is taking legal action to get his ex to return his nearly $1 million engagement ring.
An anonymous source close to Simmons confirmed to The Sun that he didn’t expect Jama to keep the engagement ring since a marriage wasn’t forthcoming.
“Ben was really shocked when she left and didn’t give him the ring back,” the source said. He was madly in love with her and thought it was forever, so [he] was really p***ed she didn’t give it back. It cost around $1 million, and they were engaged less than a year.”
The Australian ball player wasn’t the only one caught by surprise. A rep for Jama told the outlet that she was caught off guard after receiving a legal letter ordering her to return the ring, considering Simmons didn’t ask her personally.
“Given Ben has never, until now, asked for the ring back, you can appreciate the letter came somewhat as a surprise to Maya,” Jama’s rep said. Maya received a request from Ben’s representatives on Friday afternoon, asking her to return the engagement ring that he gave her as a gift last year.”
The rep continued, “This was the first time that she has been asked by Ben to return it, and, for the avoidance of any doubt, she has never refused to return it. Maya is making arrangements to return the ring to Ben and wishes him all the best.”
The pair got together in the spring of 2021 and engaged in December 2021. A source stated that Jama called off the engagement after the two realized they were headed in separate directions and focused on their careers.