Maro Itoje’s life away from the pitch – from glamorous fiancée to teammate cousin

Maro Itoje is one of England’s foremost talents when it comes to rugby and has been playing a key role in the nation’s campaign at this year’s Six Nations tournament, which sees England just one point short of France.

The 30-year-old has been playing professionally for over 12 years, and his talents on the field have seen him nominated for World Rugby Player of the Year on three occasions. At a club level, the star plays for Saracens, and in 185 appearances, he has managed to score 120 points.

Maro’s career in rugby wasn’t always guaranteed, with the star previously representing England’s U17s in the shot put, and while at university, he studied politics.

But away from the rugby pitch, how much do you know about Maro? Meet the star’s glamorous fiancée and famous cousin below…

Fiancée

Maro is currently engaged to model Mimi Fall. The rugby ace proposed to his partner during a holiday to Nigeria and Ghana.

The pair announced their engagement on 7 August 2024, with Mimi sharing a gorgeous photo of them cuddling up together on a boat. “Mrs I to be,” she shared in an image carousel featuring her love and a close-up of her dazzling engagement ring.

Speaking about his engagement to the Mail, he shared: “We went to Nigeria for two weeks and we went to Ghana for four days. We went to this beautiful aqua-safari in Ada, which is on the coast, about two hours from Accra. It was a beautiful resort, and I popped the question there.”

Away from rugby, Maro has tried his hand at modelling, even appearing with Prince William’s cousin Lady Amelia Windsor on the cover of Tatler. He first crossed paths with Mimi during a shoot.

© Instagram

Mimi has since shared several photos of the pair planning their wedding, including insights into her engagement party. The couple haven’t yet set a date for their nuptials, with reports suggesting it might be delayed due to Maro’s rugby commitments.

Famous relatives

Maro isn’t the only sportsman in his family, as the star’s cousin is Beno Obano, who plays as a prop on the national team and for Bath. The two rugby stars were born just three days apart, with Beno being the older of the pair.

The pair have a close bond, and in 2020, after Beno released his documentary Everybody’s Game, Maro urged his fans to support the project.

© The RFU Collection via Getty Ima

In a Facebook post, he wrote: “Congrats to my cousin Beno Obano for producing and directing the Amazon Prime Video documentary Everybody’s Game. Some people spend their careers trying to create a documentary and get it on a platform like this. He’s only gone and done it with his first one.

“The doc is an important one that looks to push rugby to go further and wider to include more communities and groups for the benefit of all involved. Go and check it out!!”

© Getty Images

Beno has also made an appearance on Maro’s podcast, Pearl Conversations, in which the pair discussed the ways they have encountered racism within rugby.

Reflecting on their childhood, Maro said: “For you and I, rugby has never really been [there] when we were growing up – as you said, from when we were born to when we went to secondary school.

© The RFU Collection via Getty Ima

“Before then, rugby was never really a thing for us. Coming from a Nigerian household where, if it’s any sport at all, it’s football. If it’s not football, then it’s books.”