The Strictly Come Dancing ‘curse’ has become an infamous part of the lore associated with the BBC dance competition.
Every year when Strictly comes around, speculation is rife among fans about which of the stars taking part might either get together with a dance pro, or potentially endure relationship struggles with a real-life partner. It was dubbed the ‘curse’ following several high profile break ups.
Comedian Dara O’Briain is said to have recently joked about the Strictly ‘curse’ when he ruled out ever signing up for the series.
He reportedly wisecracked during a stand-up gig: “Strictly Come Dancing is everywhere in the world. But Britain is the only country in which the celebrities [blank] the dancers.”
Obviously, the joke that was reported would have contained exaggeration for comic effect. But ahead of upcoming announcements concerning the 2023 series, here is who has been linked with the ‘curse’ in newspaper and showbiz outlets reports over the years.
Who has been reportedly affected by the Strictly ‘curse’?
The first series of Strictly in 2004 saw pro dancer Brendan Cole paired up with Natasha Kaplinsky. Both were said to be in relationships, with Brendan linked to fellow pro Camilla Dallerup.
Natasha and Brendan reportedly had an affair during their time on the show, which Brendan has denied.
He said at the time: “I didn’t cross any lines with Natasha. I was single. Camilla had ended the relationship very early on in the series so what happened, happened after that.”
Kristina Rihanoff
Russian star Kristina was a dance pro on Strictly between 2008 and 2015.
Among her celeb partners were boxer Joe Calzaghe, who she dance with in 2009, and rugby player Ben Cohen in 2013.
Kristina and Joe were in a relationship until the summer of 2013. And she later became involved with Ben. The couple remain together and share a daughter together, Milena, who was born in 2016.
Ben’s ex-wife Abby, who he divorced in 2016, admitted her regret in September 2021 about previous comments she made about Kristina.
She told New! magazine at the time: “At the time of the break-up, when hugely stressed, I once angrily referred to Ben’s partner as a ‘[blank]ing Russian dancer’ to a journalist hassling me. I regret that now.”
Flavia Cacace
Former pro star Flavia Cacace is said to have dumped fellow pro Vincent Simone for EastEnders star Matt Di Angelo in 2007, shortly after the series ended.
They then split 2010 and Flavia dated Jimi Mistry, another celeb contestant, weeks later.
Flavia and Jimi got hitched in December 2013.
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Rachel Riley
The announcement concerning Countdown’s Rachel split from her husband of 15 months Jamie Gilbert came in November 2013.
That same month she and dance pro partner Pasha Kovalev were eliminated from that year’s series.
They later confirmed their relationship in 2014, married in 2019 and share two daughters together.
Giovanni Pernice
It sometimes feels like Italian hunk Gio may be linked in the tabloids to anyone he ever meets.
He and 2015 celeb partner Georgia May Foote made it to the final that year.
They were reportedly spotted kissing following the end of that series. And shortly after the Strictly final, her eight-month romance with Coronation Street actor Sean Ward is said to have ended due to “insecurity” over their relationship.
Georgia and Giovanni were linked together, but they are believed to have split in 2016.
Giovanni has also reportedly dated contestant Ashley Roberts, according to reports. And both he and Ranvir Singh denied there was anything more to their dance partnership when they were paired up in 2020.
Newspaper claims also indicated at one point following his reported break up with Love Island’s Maura Higgins was due to his dedication to training with 2021 co-winner Rose Ayling-Ellis.
After her win in 2021, reports claimed that Rose had split from her boyfriend.
Kevin Clifton
Former champion Kevin has been linked with the mythical ‘curse’ more than once.
He was married to fellow pro Karen Hauer when singer Louise Redknapp – married to Jamie Redknapp at the time – was his 2016 celeb partner.
Mum-of-two Louise had been wed since June 1998. But their relationship was confirmed to be over in September 2017 and they were divorced by the end of that year.
Karen and Kevin’s divorce – ending Kevin’s third marriage, and her second – came through in 2018.
Kevin struck up a Glitterball trophy-winning dance partnership with Stacey Dooley for the 2018 series.
Her relationship of three years with boyfriend Sam ended following reports of struggles while she was away on the Strictly tour.
And it was confirmed she was dating Kevin in 2019. They are still a couple – and welcomed daughter Minnie into the world in January 2023.
In addition to these claimed instances, Kevin’s 2013 celeb partner Susanna Reid split from partner Dominic Cotton in 2014.
GMB star Susanna has insisted the end of her relationship with Dominic – with whom she shares three children – after 16 years had nothing to do with Strictly.
Daisy Lowe
Model Daisy is said to have been hit by the ‘curse’ during Strictly’s 2016 run, when she was partnered with Aljaz Skorjanec.
The Sun later claimed in 2019 that it was an “open secret” among the show’s stars that a “fling” occurred with pro AJ Pritchard.
A source was quoted as saying in that report: “Over the years lots of Strictly stars have grown close and it usually comes out straight away.
“AJ and Daisy really hit it off when they were both on the show even though they weren’t dancing together.”
Seann Walsh and Katya Jones
Comedian Seann and his pro partner Katya were photographed snogging in the street in London during the 2018 series.
Seann was seeing girlfriend of five years Rebecca Humphries at the time, and Katya was married to pro Neil Jones.
Rebecca dumped Seann following coverage of what he described as a “one-off mistake”.
Meanwhile, Neil forgave his wife, but they ultimately confirmed their split 10 months later.
Dianne Buswell
Dianne’s relationship with Emmerdale actor Anthony Quinlan ended in the autumn of 2018. He later indicated the long distance element “was quite taxing for us both”.
However, the Strictly ‘curse’ was also linked to what happened. Dianne was partnered with Joe Sugg for the Strictly 2018 series, while she was still dating Anthony.
Dianne and YouTuber Joe later went public with their romance after the show ended and remain together now.
Ahead of the 2021 series
Additionally, 2021 contestant Ugo Monye announced he had split from his wife Lucy before that year’s series started.
However, the circumstances were not related to the ‘curse’. And the rugby player reportedly went public with the change in his relationship status to avoid ‘curse’ rumours.
Ugo said at the time: “We weren’t in a volatile relationship, we never hated each other and there was no third party. Forget the Strictly curse – it’s the COVID curse! We ended up where we ended up.”
Nikita Kuzmin
Furthermore, pro dancer Nikita previously dated Germany-based dancer Nicole Wirt for five years.
It was reported in October 2022 that their relationship came to an end so he could focus on the BBC dance show.
During the 2021 series, fans were captivated by Nikita’s rapport with his celeb dance partner Tilly Ramsay. But there is nothing to suggest the pair were involved romantically in any way.
Kym Marsh
Meanwhile, 2022 celebrity contestant Kym Marsh reportedly parted ways with third husband Scott Ratcliff after 19 months of marriage in May.
A spokesperson for Kym declined to comment at the time, but a source claimed to The Sun: “They both really tried to make it work, but the cracks have been there for a while and they were only getting to see each other for one or two days a week at the very most. Kym’s been so busy, and last year Strictly meant even her weekends were stacked up along with weekdays rehearsing.”
Kym was previously married to soap actors Jack Ryder and Jamie Lomas.
Craig Revel Horwood on the Strictly ‘curse’
Judge Craig meanwhile has previously offered another perspective on the ‘curse’.
He said during a 2020 interview: “People call it the Strictly ‘curse’ but I always think of it as ‘the Strictly blessing’. People have fallen in love, had children, got married.
“They might have been in rotten relationships with people they didn’t even like and didn’t know until they met someone else. People don’t fall off the wagon if they’re already in love. I think it’s great. It’s better than meeting online – at least you know what they look like, and you know how they dance.”
Read more: 10 daytime stars we want to see do Strictly this year – from This Morning fave to Loose Women legend
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