Yahoo News Gemma Atkinson isn't worried about Gorka Marquez and the Strictly curse
Strictly Come Dancing pro Gorka Marquez and Hollyoaks actor Atkinson have been together since 2017.
Gemma Atkinson has been dating Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Gorka Marquez for more than six years now, and she's not even a little worried about the "Strictly curse" affecting their relationship.
The couple met back in 2017 when the Hollyoaks star appeared on Strictly. They were not partnered on the show — Atkinson danced with Aljaž Škorjanec and made it all the way to the final — but romance soon blossomed.
Atkinson told The Sun that meeting Marquez helped to change her perceptions of men, which is why she's not worried about him falling for his future dance partners.
"I was always going for the bad boys," she said. "As soon as you give a nice lad a chance, you realise you don’t have to be constantly wondering where you stand. Gorka opened my eyes to what a relationship should be like.”
Atkinson added: "I’m past that stage of life where I like the bad boy. I’m not bothered about the Strictly curse at all."
Marquez was eliminated early in the most recent series of Strictly along with partner Nikita Kanda, but he made the final in 2022 with presenter Helen Skelton.
“It doesn’t bother me at all, maybe because I’m in the industry myself," said Atkinson. "On my first day on Emmerdale, I met Michael Parr in the morning and had to kiss him that afternoon. We thought nothing of it. I said ‘nice to meet you’, had lunch, kissed him, went home. Don’t get me wrong, Gorka loves Strictly, but it’s his job."
Atkinson and Marquez got engaged in 2021, but have struggled to arrange their wedding due to Marquez's schedule around Strictly and its live tour. The couple also have two children together — Mia and Thiago.
It seems Gorka is safe from the Strictly curse, but long-serving Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood has tried to rebrand the curse, saying it can be a "blessing" that gets people out of "loveless marriages".
We're not sure many of the couples involved would've agreed with that one at the time.
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