Strictly Come Dancing couples who are still going strong

From Digital Spy

Strictly Come Dancing has become synonymous with romance during its 15-year stint on the BBC, but while a number of romantic relationships forged on the series have fallen apart, others have blossomed.

From a secret wedding in Las Vegas to babies galore, the following Strictly alumi are in it for the long haul.

Jimi Mistry and Flavia Cacace

It was all the way back in 2010 when actor Jimi Mistry was paired with Flavia Cacace (no longer on the show). The couple made it to week six before they were eliminated, with Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvintsev (who were also in a relationship for more than three years) going on to lift the Glitterball trophy.

Matt Baker and Aliona Vilani finished in second place.

Jimi and his former wife Meg Leonard divorced back in 2018, but he made it clear to the Daily Mail that "it was obvious it was great" between himself and Flavia, but they "didn't get together until after the show".

Flavia announced their engagement in January 2013, and the pair married in December that year.

Prior to meeting Jimi, Flavia dated another of her Strictly partners, former EastEnders' actor Matt DiAngelo, and she was also in a relationship with former Strictly professional Vincent Simone.

Ben Cohen and Kristina Rihanoff

Kristina Rihanoff, who is no longer dancing on the BBC series, dated a number of her Strictly partners: retired boxer Joe Calzaghe, Vincent Simone, and there were also rumours she was involved with singer Simon Webbe.

Kristina met ex-rugby player Ben on the show in 2013, the pair knocked out in week nine. Ben split from Abby Cohen, his wife of 11 years, after taking part in the series.

They both said that they began dating only after Ben's marriage was over.

Kristina and Ben aren't currently married – she recently told Hello that their wedding "will probably be in a couple of years" – but they do have a three-year-old daughter together called Milena.

Rachel Riley and Pasha Kovalev

Rachel Riley and Pasha Kovalev were paired together in 2013 on the eleventh series of the show, and were booted off in week six.

According to reports, the pair began dating in 2014 and confirmed their relationship in September that year.

The presenter split from her first husband, Jamie Gilbert, who she went to Oxford University with, in November 2013 following one year of marriage. But she made it clear that the dance show was not the reason behind their divorce.

"At that time, I was doing Countdown and The Gadget Show, so I was living in Essex," she told Alastair Campbell for British GQ. "I was filming in Birmingham and in Salford, and then filming Strictly in Borehamwood, with a bit of It Takes Two in London. I was getting three hours' sleep a night, trying to fit in all these things. All you want to do at that time is the dancing because you know you've got to do this thing in a few days."

In May this year, Rachel announced on Instagram that the couple were expecting a baby, and in June this year Rachel shared a photo on Instagram in which she announced that they had tied the knot in Las Vegas.

Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez

Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez weren't actually paired up on the BBC dance show in 2017. Gemma was waltzing with Aljaž, and Gorka was with Alexandra Burke.

Gemma made it to the final, along with Alexandra, and Debbie McGee and her partner Giovanni Pern, but it was Joe McFadden and Katya Jones who took the crown.

Rumours of a romance between Gemma and Gorka began circulating during their time on the show when they started sharing photos of one another on social media.

But there was no confirmation that anything was happening, with Gemma telling The Sun that "once the series is over [they might start dating], but not right now". Eventually, after months of radio silence, Gemma shared a Valentine's Day post of the pair back in February 2018.

She later confirmed the news on the Key 103 breakfast show and said that they were "genuinely" not together during their time on Strictly.

The couple have yet to confirm whether they are engaged, despite Gemma recently photographed wearing a ring, but they've got quite enough on their plate at the moment following the birth of their first daughter, Mia Louise.

Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton

Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton haven't given much away about their relationship, something that the investigative journalist acknowledged when chatting to The Guardian.

"Kev and I have decided not to go into too much detail about our private lives because you can't really indulge that and then ask for privacy. That's why we've turned down interviews that have offered us tens of thousands of pounds.

"What I am happy so say is Kev is amazing, I'm happy, life happens, I've got an amazing career and I'm very lucky".

The pair were crowned Strictly champions on last year's show.

Back in March 2018, Kevin Clifton and his wife, Karen, also a professional dancer on the series, officially confirmed that they had split.

"Privately we are not together anymore but professionally we are stronger than ever before," said Kevin on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show. "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."

There were reports that Kevin and his 2016 dancing partner, Louise Rednapp, had grown close during their time on the show, something that reportedly caused a strain between Kevin and Karen, and Louise and her husband, Jamie.

When Stacey joined Strictly, she was in a relationship with personal trainer Sam Tucknott, and went to watch his ex-girlfriend perform in the Strictly ballroom. By that point, it had been reported that Sam was "insanely jealous" of Stacey's partnership with Kevin.

The pair eventually went their separate ways – some reports claimed their relationship had been three years long, others five – and Sam had some pretty strong things to say about Kevin.

"I have no respect for Kevin whatsoever," he told The Sun. "He comes out and says it's all 'strictly business'. He's a full-on prick. I've tried to meet him since to get closure but he won't do it.

"Had it been one of the other dancers she got with, fair enough. But it stings that much more because of what he's been like and how he's renowned.

"He's an absolute complete f**king rat with no bollocks or decency to hear me out. The fact he won’t have a man-to-man conversation with me says everything about the guy. He has gone from my best mate, wanting to know the ins and outs of what I am up to, then he can't even go out of his way to reply. That's come from guilt."

Sam claims he found "secret texts" from Kevin on Stacey's phone.

"I was getting my stuff to leave," he told The Sun. "Stacey was in the loo. Her phone went and it was Kevin Clifton — 'I love you' with a red love heart.

"I grabbed the phone and confronted her. She said she'd tell me everything I needed to know."

Sam revealed Stacey had sent him a message explaining: "I didn't start entertaining and texting him [Kevin] until I split up with you. I was not with you when we started it all.

"I did fall for him but when we were done. I will tell you anything you want to know."

Stacey later tweeted that there are '2 sides to every story'.

But despite their relationship status now being out in the open, Kevin and Stacey have decided not to move in together just yet.

Joe Sugg and Dianne Buswell

YouTuber Joe Sugg didn't get his hands on the Glitterball trophy in 2018, but he did say that he "won something a million times more special".

No, YOU'RE crying.

The pair were runners-up alongside Ashley Roberts and Pasha, and Faye Tozer and Giovanni Pernice, all of them losing out to Stacey and Kevin.

Rumours were circulating long before Joe shared the above photo officially confirming their relationship. Dianne had separated from her boyfriend, actor Anthony Quinlan, earlier in the series, and fans started to sense that the pair were growing closer.

Since then, Joe and Dianne have shared tonnes of photos of one another on social media, and in August this year the pair announced that they had moved in together.

Ok yes, WE'RE crying.

Ashley Roberts and Giovanni Pernice

Ashley Roberts and Giovanni Pernice, like Gemma and Gorka, weren't actually paired together on the show back in 2018. Ashley's dancing partner was Pasha, and Giovanni, was with Faye.

Both Ashley and Faye made it through to the 2018 final, but were pipped to the post by Stacey and Kevin.

During an appearance on Lorraine with Aljaž and Gorka in January this year, Giovanni, who previously dated former Coronation Street actor, Georgia May Foote, who also took part in Strictly, finally confirmed that the pair were dating: "We have yes [been on holiday]. We spent time together yes."

The pair chose to visit Ashley's family in Florida for Christmas 2018.

Back in January this year, Ashley also confirmed the news to Weekend magazine.

"Yes, we are seeing each other," she said. "And now the show is done we can spend a bit more time together. We're getting to know each other, and it's nice.

"It's just starting now. This is when it's starting, but it's still early days."

She also opened up further about their romance on Good Morning Britain in May: "We weren’t partnered up, but we ended up having a bit of a romance on the show. It evolved into something much bigger after that.

"I feel we have a real connection. He's also very supportive and he's so excited I'm doing Waitress. He said, 'I'm gonna be there on the 17th June for the first night'."

When asked by Piers if she was worried that the Strictly curse could hit herself and Giovanni's relationship during the new series, she replied: "That is a good question, but I do trust him."

And the pair are still going strong.

Giovanni shared the following video of the pair dancing together back in August.

And Ashley wished her "spicy Italian stallion" a happy birthday on September 5.

Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Instagram and Twitter account.

You Might Also Like

• Animal Crossing New Horizons is finally announced on Nintendo Switch

• How to watch Amazon Prime on your TV, smartphone and tablet – and enjoy Good Omens online

• Nintendo to release two new Switch consoles this year