It’s been four years since James Taylor burst onto the SW3 scene when joined the cast of Made in Chelsea and since then he’s been involved in some major storylines. The London lothario’s romanced a number of ladies during his time on the show including Eliza Batten and Verity Bowditch, but his womanising ways came to an end when he started dating Maeva D’Ascanio in 2019.
Things for James and Maeva were far from clear sailing... Their turbulent relationship has provided much of the drama in the last series of MIC.
As we patiently wait for the next series of the hit show - here’s everything you need to know about him.
Who is James Taylor?
James is a reality star and model who is best known for appearing on Made in Chelsea. His first appearance on the show was in 2017 when he taught his pal Sam Prince how to play polo.
During his time on MIC James has developed a bit of a reputation after two-timing Verity Bowditch and Eliza Batten.
He flew Verity to Paris for a date before doing the exact same for Eliza and telling her she's "the only girl [he] would do that for".
However, it wasn't long before Eliza realised he was still messaging Verity.
How old is James Taylor?
James was born on 9 April 1995, meaning he's currently 26 years old.
Where is James Taylor from?
James grew up with his mum, dad and three siblings in Saffron Walden, a small town in Essex.
CHECK OUT Made in Chelsea's most dramatic splits
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Spencer Matthews and Caggie Dunlop
The OG tragic split, even featuring an IRL (well, scripted reality) leaving at the airport scene. Spencer and Caggie weren't officially a couple, with Spencer dating model Funda Önal, but the chemistry between them was undeniable and for a long time Spenny thought of her as the love of his life. Eventually, feeling played by Spencer stringing her along while refusing to dump Funda (we don't blame her, tbh) Caggie left to pursue a "music career" in New York, and Spencer, realising the error of his ways, rushed to catch her at the airport to win her back. He missed her. Talk about dramatic.
Ollie Lock and Gabriella Ellis
Cast your minds back to the first series and you will remember that a long-locked Ollie Lock was in fact dating a woman - aspiring pop star Garbriella Ellis, no less. But the couple split because Ollie was confused about his sexuality, and he quickly went on his "first ever" date with a man, leaving Gabriella heartbroken. So heartbroken, in fact, that she wrote her next pop song, Fight, about him, and there were some bizarre scenes in series two when she cast an Ollie lookalike to play the role of the leading man (subtle, hun).
Hugo Taylor and Millie Mackintosh
We all know how this turned out IN THE END, but cast your minds back to series one and you'll remember the OG Chelsea power couple met a very messy end when Millie found out that Hugo (best mate of slimy Spencer Matthews) had cheated on her with HER best friend, the unassuming Rosie Fortescue. Cue a VERY dramatic speech at a party where Millie outed their betrayal in front of all their friends, making for possibly one of the best MiC scenes to this day.
Spencer Matthews and Louise Thompson
After Caggie, Spencer's next conquest (in fact there might have been a few in between, to be fair), was weepy Louise Thompson, who was regularly reduced to tears by his womanizing ways. For some reason she stayed with him through multiple infidelities (seriously, we don't get it?) but things eventually came to a head when Spence met Louise at a bridge by the Thames (a classic) and told her he couldn't respect her when she "allowed" him to cheat on her.
Binky Felstead and Alex Mytton
We were all rooting for Binky and new boy Alex Mytton when he showed up in series five, but it quickly became apparent he was one of the 'bois' by how well he got along with resident villains Spencer and Jamie Laing. They were a cute couple for a while, but Binky eventually split with Alex after learning he'd cheated on her on a night out with Spencer. She later found out the night in question had actually been an ORGY, which made things ten times worse. Poor Binks.
Sam Thompson and Tiffany Watson
Ah, young love's dream. Except, not really, because a freshly de-cherried (presumably) Sam Thompson simply could not keep it in his pants during his two year relationship with Tiffany Watson. The couple eventually split during tearful scenes in Croatia, with Tiffany quitting the show shortly after. However, after Sam returned in 2019 with his Love Island girlfriend Zara McDermott in tow there were some seriously tense scenes where Sam very much gave the impression he wasn't over his first love.
Louise Thompson and Alik Alfus
This one ruined us. Sure, New Yorker Alik was a bit of a bumbling idiot, and moving to the UK and asking Louise to marry him was A TAD overkill, but the scenes where Louise decided she couldn't go through with it and gave the ring back were peak heartbreak. There was later talk that their split had something to do with fellow American cast member Stephanie Pratt, but she hit back with a tweet saying, "Uhhh no she was shagging her trainer since March." She's now engaged (or is she?) to said trainer, Ryan Libbey.
Jamie Laing and Frankie Gaff
We hate to say it, but Chelsea OG Jamie Laing just doesn't seem like he deserves a girlfriend. Not that Frankie Gaff was our fave, but is there a single partner Jamie hasn't done the dirty on? His relationship with Frankie was particularly eye-roll, but Frankie gave as good as she got when she went after Jamie's boi Alex Mytton and allegedly hooked up with TOWIE's Dan Edgar. They eventually split after one too many tearful confrontations at the dinner table with friends, and Frankie quit shortly afterward.
Liv Bentley and Digby Edgley
After meeting on the set of one of 'photographer' Liv's nude shoots, it was love at first sight for these two and they managed a pretty normal relationship for a good few series. But things started getting rocky in series 18 with Digby increasingly frustrated by Liv's social life and Liv feeling stifled. At the end of the series after some major on-ing and an off-ing, Digby left for South Africa for work for three months, but then Liv went on Celebs Go Dating and the former couple shared some cut throat digs on Insta.
Maeva D'Ascanio and Miles Nazaire
Let's face it - the golden era of MiC ended when the last remaining connections to the OG cast faded from the show (excluding Jamie Laing, obv), and we've been less invested in their relationships since then. But a special mention goes to Maeva D'Ascanio and Miles Nazaire. As each others' first loves in their native France, Maeva followed Miles to London where she joined the MiC cast and after a full series of heartbreak, the couple agreed to move on. We're sure Miles didn't have his best mate James Taylor in mind for Maeva's next squeeze, though. Awks.
Sam Thompson and Zara McDermott
After meeting on the celeb circuit, Sam brought Love Islander Zara onto MiC with him (despite her being very much not from Chelsea) in 2019 as he returned from a break from filming. Cue VERY awkward exchanges with his ex, Tiffany, who also picked that series to return. In September 2020 allegations of Zara cheating on Sam during her stint on The X Factor came to light (oh how the tables have turned, hey Sam?) and their dramz split is set to play out on the upcoming series.
CREDIT: E4Spencer Matthews and Caggie Dunlop
The OG tragic split, even featuring an IRL (well, scripted reality) leaving at the airport scene. Spencer and Caggie weren't officially a couple, with Spencer dating model Funda Önal, but the chemistry between them was undeniable and for a long time Spenny thought of her as the love of his life. Eventually, feeling played by Spencer stringing her along while refusing to dump Funda (we don't blame her, tbh) Caggie left to pursue a "music career" in New York, and Spencer, realising the error of his ways, rushed to catch her at the airport to win her back. He missed her. Talk about dramatic.
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What does James Taylor from Made in Chelsea do?
Before joining Made in Chelsea, James studied Global Business Management at Regent’s University London from 2014-2018. He was awarded one of the university’s two polo scholarships and has played at a range of clubs including Cambridge, Exeter and Dallas.
James’ lavish lifestyle, including his own private plane and a spa inside his house, often gets a mention on the show. Not much is known about James’ family or how they became so rich, although they have their own business which is linked to sales engineering. It’s even thought that James could take over the business one day.
The reality star also works as a model and usually shares snaps from his photoshoots on Instagram.
WATCH Habbs, Maeva & James are faced with their most cringeworthy Made in Chelsea moments
Is James Taylor still dating Maeva?
James and Maeva are still dating, despite taking a "break" in the most recent series of Made In Chelsea after a series of rows. James kissed another woman just days later, leaving a furious Maeva ready to take revenge.
She claimed she wanted to “hurt” James and told Olivia Bentley, “And the only way to hurt James is to have sex with Miles [Nazaire].”
Miles is Maeva’s ex who has previously caused problems for her relationship with James due to their close friendship.
Fans took to social media to fume at the turn of events, with one writing, “So Miles ruined one relationship, now he's going to ruin another one. Got it!”
Another added, “Ok they have chemistry but they are not compatible. Sometimes love and chemistry are not enough.”
The break proved to only be temporary as Maeva and James got back together after she came clean about asking to sleep with Miles and apologised.
Maeva insisted nothing happened between her and Miles and claimed she wouldn't have slept with him even if he wanted to.
Whilst there was some more drama after Maeva admitted she'd seen Miles again causing her on/off boyfriend to exclaim, "You emotionally f--ked Miles!" (what an ICONIC line), they were still together at the end of series 22 and seem to be more in love than ever in the time since.
James posted an adorable photo of him and Maeva together in Paris on New Year's Day. He included the caption, "starting the new year as we mean to go on ❤️🐿" (awwwww). can you get any more classically romantic?
James also posted a picture of him and Maeva on Instagram for Valentines Day 2022 with the caption, "my valentine @maevadascanio ❤️".
We have to say the pair looked on amazing form, leading some to comment asking when they're going to get married. one wrote, "When are you getting married @maevadascanio? You’d make a gorgeous bride sweetheart 😍"
Maeva also shared a picture of her and James for Valentine's Day. She. captioned the post, "♥️Happy valentines day love of my life ♥️ @jamestaylorldn."
From these posts and by all other accounts James and Maeva's relationship appears to be stronger than ever. We wish them all the best in future 🙌.
Does James Taylor have Instagram?
Yep, you can follow him at @jamestaylorldn.