Strictly Star Flavia Explains Why The Stars Keep Falling For Each Other

If anyone knows about the ‘Curse of Strictly’, it’s 36-year-old ballroom star Flavia Cacace.

The Italian dancer, who left the show back in 2013, famously waltzed off with EastEnders star Matt Di Angelo when they were paired together on the show in 2007.

All very romantic – except that Flavia was already in a relationship with suave co-star Vincent Simone at the time. Awkward.

“Yes, it was a disaster,” Flavia told The Sunday Telegraph. “It all happened in the most atrocious way. My relationship with Matt was really hyped up, which was very painful for Vincent.

“But you have to understand, everything in my life had been about dance. I’d lived in a bubble. I was 27 when I started on Strictly. I had never been to London on my own. I had never been on an aeroplane.”

And she’d never seen EastEnders, presumably.

The fallout from the on-screen affair didn’t put Flavia off, though. The Strictly curse struck AGAIN in 2010 when she fell for East Is East actor Jimi Mistry. This time there was a happy ending, and the pair later married in 2013.

So the secret behind the Curse of Strictly? A shed-load of pent-up sexual frustrations and the novelty of being lavished with attention, according to the Neopolitan star. Ew.

“I think [Strictly] sends the celebrities mad,” Flavia explains. “Some people can’t handle all that physical closeness. They fall in love with this dream, this fantasy. Our job is to make them the centre of attention.

“It’s very addictive and it goes to some people’s heads,” she continued.

Hmm, so it’s all the celebs’ fault, is it? It takes two to tango, Flavia. You of all people should know that.