By Jessica Sansome
Maisie Smith has teased her ‘exciting next chapter’ with Max George following his shock health scare. The actress and the singer have been in a relationship since 2022. Romance blossomed for the pair two years after they both took part in Strictly Come Dancing’s 2020 series. The series saw Maisie partnered up with professional dancer Kevin Clifton, while Max competed in the hit dance show with Dianne Buswell. While nothing happened between the pair at the time, they later found love and soon moved in together, with Maisie joining Max in his Manchester home. But the couple were hit with a challenging period at the end of last year when Max’s health took a surprise turn. The Wanted singer has recently returned to work after he underwent heart surgery and had a pacemaker fitted over the Christmas period last year. He revealed in December that he suddenly started to feel unwell and doctors found a “block” in his heart when he arrived at the hospital, which meant that it was beating to an abnormal rhythm. In his Instagram post at the time, he wrote: “Although this is a huge shock and no doubt a set back, it鈥檚 something I鈥檒l take on with all I鈥檝e got! I count myself very lucky that this was caught when it was.” Max, who rose to fame in 2009 when boyband The Wanted formed, before a hiatus was announced in 2014, later underwent a second surgery at the start of the year after the newly-fitted pacemaker caused a “flickering sensation” in his chest. Now, Maisie has been quizzed on her and Max’s future considering his worrying health battle. Speaking to The Sun on Sunday , the former EastEnders star said: “I’m still a baby! We have so much time. We have got the whole world, a whole life. “Now Max is getting better and stronger and fitter. And we are ready to start an exciting next chapter of our time together.” Maisie revealed that the op has made the couple realise that they both want to be more impulsive, have fun, travel the world, see new things and to make friends. She explained how they are in the mindset of enjoying right now and making the most of every minute. During the early period of their new relationship, both Max and Maisie were hit with comments about their age-gap relationship. Speaking to Fabulous back in 2023, Maisie said: “If it wasn’t that, it would be something else. “People don’t understand what goes on behind closed doors in a relationship, and I think they also forget that I’m a consenting 21-year-old woman who’s actually been working longer than Max. I don’t notice the age difference and neither do my friends or family. My mum Julia is the one who reads through all the comments.”