15 Strictly Come Dancing affairs that shook our world

Strictly Come Dancing curse: who's been struck by romance on the dance floor?

Strictly Come Dancing Affairs

by Georgina Terry |
Updated on

The infamous Strictly curse has become a well-known term in the Strictly Come Dancing world because the BBC show has seen the beginning and the end of plenty of relationships.

From break ups, divorces, marriages and affair rumours the dancers and celebrities have seen it all.

But don't worry, over the years we've also seen happy things come from the show; Kristina Rihanoff and Ben Cohen's relationship blossomed so much so they're parents now!

Following the shocking splits of a number of celebrities relationships, we've decided to look back at all the other couples who have been hit by the Strictly curse...

Strictly Come Dancing: relationships, affairs and romances

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Strictly Come Dancing Affairs That Gave Us The Shock of Our Lives

Natasha Kaplinsky Brendan Cole1 of 15
CREDIT: Getty Images

1. Natasha Kaplinsky and Brendan Cole

Strictly's Camilla Dallerup revealed she suffered a 'mini death' when her fiancé Brendan Cole reportedly left her in 2004 for his Strictly dance partner Natasha Kaplinsky. Natasha and Brendan never confirmed they were romantically involved. Natasha said: "There was chemistry, of course, and I certainly fell in love with dancing, but I did not fall in love with Brendan."The pair have since married other people, whilst Camilla married former Hollyoaks star Kevin Sacre in 2010.

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CREDIT: Getty Images

2. Joe Calzaghe and Kristina Rihanoff

Just one week into his stint on Strictly in 2009 and Joe Calzaghe split with his girlfriend of five years, Jo-Emma Larvin. It wasn't long before the boxer and his professional dance partner Kristina Rihanoff embarked on a romance. Unfortunately it wasn't to last and they split four years later.

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CREDIT: Getty Images

3. Ben Cohen and Kristina Rihanoff

Following his 2013 stint on the show, rugby star Ben Cohen revealed he'd split from wife of 11-years Abby. He was then forced to deny he was romantically involved with former partner Kristina Rhianoff, after the pair were spotted linking arms on a London tube train.Ben and Kristina have since started a relationship and the pair welcomed their first child together in 2016.

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CREDIT: Getty Images

4. Matt Di Angelo and Flavia Cacace

Things must have been awkward backstage at Strictly in 2007 when Flavia Cacace reportedly dumped her long-term dance partner and boyfriend of eight-years, Vincent Simone, for Eastenders actor Matt Di Angelo.At the time the actor told the Daily Mail: "The funny thing was the story did not start off as true, but the more you read it, the more you started to believe it and actually act on it."However, Flavia split from Matt in 2010 and went on to wed actor Jimi Mistry (who she met whilst partnered together on Strictly in 2010) in December 2013.

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CREDIT: Getty Images

5. Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna

Former Hollyoaks actress Ali Bastian and her dance partner, Brian Fortuna, got together in 2009 after starring together on the show - but split a year later.

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CREDIT: Getty Images

6. Rachel Riley and Pasha Kovalev

Rachel Riley surprised everyone when she revealed she was splitting from husband of just 15-months Jamie Gilbert during her time on Strictly in 2013. Less than a year later, the Countdown star announced she was dating her Strictly partner Pasha Kovalev - but insisted there was no overlap between the two romances.

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CREDIT: Getty Images

7. Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvintsev

Kara Tointon not only bagged the Strictly glitter ball in 2010 but also a hunky new boyfriend when she embarked on a romance with her Strictly partner Artem Chigvintsev.However, after three years of being together the pair split, and the former EastEnders actress told The Telegraph: "We are not together. We're fine, but we aren't a couple anymore."

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CREDIT: Getty Images

8. Georgia May Foote and Sean Ward

When Georgia entered the competition in 2015 she was dating her Coronation Street co-star, Sean Ward. At the time she reassured everyone that she was in a happy relationship and she was just good friends with her dance partner Giovanni.However, shortly after the competition finished she ended her relationship with Sean and started a relationship with Giovanni.Unfortunately Georgia and Giovanni split before series 14 started. The former Coronation Street actress announced the news on Twitter, writing: "It is with great sadness we have decided to split up. There is nobody else involved."Although it was not an easy decision to make sometimes you realise that it is better to be friends and this is one of those times."We both have very busy work schedules for the rest of the year so we are both going to focus on our upcoming work projects and we wish each other well for the future."

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CREDIT: Getty Images

9. Helen George and Oliver Boot

Helen George appeared on Strictly in 2015 and split from her husband Oliver Boot of three years. Were they hit by the Strictly curse?

Susanna Reid10 of 15
CREDIT: Getty Images

10. Susanna Reid Dominic Cotton

Susanna Reid featured on Strictly during series 11. After the show finished, Susanna and her partner Dominic Cotton split.The TV presenter denied the end of their relationship being related to the Strictly curse, she told the Daily Mirror: "I think people think Strictly was bound in what happened. It wasn't."Obviously things have been challenging in my personal life but we are getting things sorted."

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CREDIT: Shutterstock

11. Louise and Jamie Redknapp

The whole world was shocked in 2017 when Louise and Jamie Redknapp confirmed they were divorcing after 19 years of marriage.The news came just months after she competed in Strictly Come Dancing 2016 alongside her professional dance partner Kevin Clifton.

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CREDIT: Shutterstock

12. Karen and Kevin Clifton

After months of speculation Strictly Come Dancing professionals Karen and Kevin Clifton confirmed they'd split.Despite breaking up they've insisted they'll remain friends. During Chris Evans' breakfast show, Kevin explained: "Privately we are not together anymore but professionally we are stronger than ever before. Dance is how we came together and is what glues us together."We're still the best of friends – we still have a lot of love and respect for each other. What we've found is that since we've been honest with each other it's unlocked our creativity."Karen added: "We have such strong chemistry and it's about entertaining and inspiring. At the end of the day it's about giving back to fans. We're feeling very positive."

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CREDIT: Shutterstock

13. Katya Jones and Seann Walsh

Everyone was shocked when photos of Seann Walsh and his professional dance partner Katya Jones were pictured together KISSING on the streets of London.While Katya is married to fellow Strictly professional Neil Jones, Sean is dating actress Rebecca Humphries.Since the news of the affair came to light, they've both apologised and blamed it as a "drunken mistake".

15. Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton14 of 15
CREDIT: Getty

14. Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton

Stacey Dooley caused controversy when she went public with her romance with her dance partner Kevin Clifton. In March, Stacey and her ex-boyfriend Sam Tucknott split, with reports suggesting Sam was paranoid about Stacey's relationship with Kevin, after finding secret messages between the two on Stacey's phone. AWKWARD.

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CREDIT: BBC Pictures

15. Tilly Ramsay and Nikita Kuzmin

Gordon Ramsay's daughter Tilly sparked romance rumours with her dance partner Nikita Kuzmin when they were spotted looking close while leaving rehearsals and fuel was only added to the fire when his girlfriend Nicole Wirt shared some cryptic social media posts that appeared to hint at heartbreak. However, we still don't know for certain what's going on between them.

Most recently, the show's dreaded Strictly curse affected 2018 contestants - comedian Seann Walsh and his married pro partner Katya Jones and documentary-maker Stacey Dooley and her pro partner Kevin Clifton.

Seann was in the middle of a huge scandal when he was caught kissing his professional partner Katya. The comedian's furious girlfriend publicly slammed the star and dumped him on social media. Katya remained united with her husband (and fellow Strictly Come Dancing professional) Neil Jones, until recently when it was announced that they will be splitting.

Louise and Jamie Redknapp
©Getty

We still can't quite believe one of the UK's biggest power couples (well, so we thought) Jamie and Louise Redknapp divorcing.

Their shock split came shortly after Louise's stint on Strictly Come Dancing back in 2016, she later revealed her outlook changed after her co-star Daisy Lowe boosted her confidence.

She explained: "She kept on at me to wear something sexy and by week three, I was in a leotard and tights not feeling self-conscious at all.

Louise added: "I could feel myself changing week by week. Sometimes I felt like crying because deep down inside me this voice was screaming 'This is what I have been missing!'"

We will never know if Louise and Jamie's marriage failure stemmed from the Strictly curse or not...

Other rumoured stars reportedly affected by the Strictly curse include Joe Sugg and Dianne Buswell, Ashley Roberts and Giovanni Pernice and Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez,

Despite the Strictly curse seeming stronger than ever (affecting two couples last series), a new star-studded line-up of celebs are preparing to battle it out on the dance floor to win the coveted glitterball trophy for the 2019 season.

The latest batch of celebrities confirmed to be heading to the dance floor include Olympic rower James Cracknell, Radio DJ Dev Griffin and footballer Alex Scott. Check out the official line-up here.

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