Yahoo News What Strictly pro dancers really think of the show’s infamous ‘curse’
What do the Strictly Come Dancing professionals think of the curse?
The Strictly curse is talked about every year.
Over the years, some relationships and marriages have broken down as a result of the Strictly curse where the celebrity and their professional dance partner have fallen in love.
Let's not forget there are some great relationships that have come out of the show when both parties were single, including Dianne Buswell and her boyfriend Joe Sugg as well as Gorka Marquez and his wife-to-be Gemma Atkinson.
So what do the Strictly Come Dancing professionals think of the so-called curse? And is it real? From being empowering to not believing in it at all, we take a look at what some of the stars who take to the dance floor every year really think of the Strictly curse.
Read more: Strictly curse: why falling in love is always going to happen
Graziano Di Prima
Graziano Di Prima has starred on Strictly Come Dancing since 2018 and he has been happily married to Giada after they tied the knot in 2022. The Strictly star has no worries about the curse, especially as his wife is a professional dancer too.
He told OK! magazine in 2024: "We do the same job, we are professional dancers. We respect each other and have principles and we try to share everything we are going through in the season with each other. Giada is my best friend, she knows everything. When you don’t want to do things in the wrong way you never even think of it."
One good way Di Prima involves his wife in his dance partnerships and vice versa is to set up dinner dates for everyone. He added: "We always include our dance partners and go for dinner and get to know each other."
Katya Jones
Katya Jones has been on our screens on Strictly since she joined the cast in 2016 and she's become a firm favourite. Her time on Strictly hasn't been without scandal as she was caught kissing her comedian celebrity partner Seann Walsh in 2018. Consequently, her marriage to fellow Strictly pro Neil Jones and Walsh's relationship with Rebecca Humphries ended.
However, Jones has an interesting take as she even championed the Strictly curse for "empowering" those taking part on the BBC show.
She told The Sun in 2020: "I think some people get empowered by it because of the sense of achievement they get from doing this brilliant show. Maybe they didn’t have the confidence, or the strength, to do these things before, or maybe some people were in long-term, unhappy relationships and doing Strictly empowered them to realise they could do better."
Last year, her celebrity partner Nigel Harman shut down rumours of the curse as he said he "couldn't be less interested". The actor has been married to his wife Lucy Liemann since 2011.
Amy Dowden
Amy Dowden is returning to Strictly for the 20th anniversary after she had to take a break last year due to her cancer battle. Dowden, who married fellow dancer Ben in 2022, pointed out it was all about the dancing for the pros who all have amazing achievements when it comes to championships.
Additionally, the Strictly star revealed none of the dancers have joined the show to find love or a long-term partner.
She told The Sun in 2020: "I don’t know one dancer who has joined the show to bag a boyfriend. We’re not here to find romance. If someone is after that, they’d be on Love Island. We do Strictly because we love to dance. Everyone is absolutely passionate about the job."
Dianne Buswell
She's been on the show since 2017 but it was in 2018 when Dianne Buswell fell in love with her celebrity dance partner Joe Sugg and they have been together ever since. Sugg hailed their romance as more important than winning the Glitterball trophy. At the time, he wrote on Instagram: "I may not have won the glitter ball, but I’ve won something a million times more special."
However, Buswell doesn't believe in Strictly's infamous curse. She told Heart Radio in 2019: "Obviously we spend so many hours with our partner but we’re professional dancers we have done this our whole lives. It’s normal for us it doesn’t mean just because you spend so much time together you’re going to end up together... So yeah I don’t believe in the Strictly curse at all."
Karen Hauer
She is the longest serving Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer and Karen Hauer admitted she believes in the Strictly curse, saying: "I've seen things." She told OK! magazine: "I'm not gonna talk about them. It exists. It's there. Whoever wants to go and play, that's there on them. It’s like any other job - it just happens."
However, Hauer – who has been married twice before – said she doesn't go there because she respects people and she respects her job as a dancer.
Gorka Marquez
Gorka Marquez met his fiance and mother of his children Gemma Atkinson on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017 but she was partnered with Aljaz Skorjanec. The professional dancer said that the Strictly curse could "happen everywhere" with people who are in unhappy relationships.
Previously in 2021, Marquez said Strictly is a job for the professional dancers. He said on Steph's Packed Lunch: "For me, I know there is a lot of rumours about the Strictly curse. I can guarantee you, for all of us, it’s a job and we know we have to get into character."
Nadiya Bychkova and Kai Widdrington
Strictly pro dancers Nadiya Bychkova and Kai Widdrington have found love with each other on the show. They met on the BBC show in 2021 but they didn't fall in love until four years later. Widdrington told The Daily Express: "That’s when we started to talk. But it wasn’t until we danced together that the magic happened."
Bychkova added: "We just fitted together. Everything worked. That’s the only way I can describe it. Dancing with Kai felt like the easiest thing in the world."
When it comes to the curse, Bychkova said chemistry with dancing is essential but that doesn't mean there is a real life romance happening behind the scenes. She has been forced to shut down rumours of the curse while dancing with her celebrity partners including Dan Walker and David James.
She told The Sun in 2020: "I've been linked to all of my dance partners and some in-between as well. Sometimes it feels like the Strictly curse is all I ever talk about. To be honest, I don’t really see it as a curse that some people get together on the show. There is a strong chance it will happen."
