Maura Higgins tells late pal he is 'so, so missed' on his birthday as she shares poignant picture

Each year, Maura pays tribute to Andrew on her social media on his birthday and anniversary

Reality TV star Maura Higgins has told her late pal how much he is missed as she wishes him a "happy heavenly birthday".

The former Love Island star paid tribute to her friend Andrew Rowan, who died in a tragic accident seven years ago.

Each year, Maura pays tribute to Andrew on her social media on his birthday and anniversary.

READ MORE: Maura Higgins receives DMs from A-list Hollywood stars after split from Chris Hemsworth body-double

READ MORE:Maura Higgins backed for major reality show, with Tommy Fury also in the running

Posting a black and white photograph of the pair, she wrote: "Happy heavenly birthday my dear friend. You are so so missed."

In July, she wrote about how she believes Andrew is still guiding her through life.

Sharing a series of videos and pictures on Instagram of her and Andrew together to mark his seventh anniversary, Maura opened up about the effect Andrew's death had on her.

"Another year without you but I know you see and guide me. I miss you more than you will ever know," she wrote.

The Co Longford native had previously revealed how Andrew had asked her to go to dinner that same night, but she had declined.

She added that she saw Andrew just hours before he was killed.

"He arrived down on the motorbike. I asked him, 'Why are you on the motorbike?' because he never used to drive it, and he said 'Oh, it's a good day [to drive it], you know?' And then he left."

Maura’s ex-boyfriend, car salesman James Finnegan, broke the tragic news to her.

"It was a blur, I think I was in shock for a lot of it," she recalled.

"I didn't break down properly until late into that night," Maura later said.

"I was still sitting on my sofa and James was with me, and I remember something came into my head and just hit me, and I couldn't physically breathe.

"I was having such a panic attack. It took me a long, long time to be okay again."

Maura has previously spoken about her guilt over Andrew, saying she used to "blame herself".

"For so long, I used to think that if I had gone for dinner with him that day, when he had asked, he wouldn’t have been on that motorbike,” she reflected.

"My family kept saying to me, 'Maura, you can’t think like this, it was going to happen', but I just kicked myself for so long and got worked up about it for so long," she previously told Fabulous Magazine.

She said losing her friend Andrew was "the biggest emotional challenge" she faced in her life.

Maura added: "That was definitely the worst time of my life. That experience taught me to live every day in the moment.

"I get the question so many times: 'Where do you see yourself in five years?', and I can’t answer it because after that happened, I vowed to just enjoy every day and now I will not look to the future too much.

"You’re just not ready for something like that. It was awful."

Sign up to the Irish Mirror's daily newsletter here and get breaking news and top stories direct to your inbox