The Strictly Curse: All the celebrity couples that have split

Adam Peaty and his girlfriend Eirianedd Munro have become the latest victims of the ‘Strictly curse’, as he announced their split on Tuesday after his 2021 stint on the show.

The Olympic swimmer is the latest in a long line of celebrities whose relationships were brought to an end by the dance show, where stars spend hours training with their professional partners before taking to the stage for steamy and intimate performances.

While some couples split while they were competing on the show, amicable or otherwise, many fell apart in the months after the glitzy lights dimmed in the famous ballroom. 

In a statement on Instagram, Adam, who shares son George, with Eirianedd, said: ‘Eiri and George, I’m sorry for letting you down. My only interest is for the well-being of our family at this difficult time.’

So, as Adam joins a bevvy of stars whose romances were thrown into turmoil by the ‘Strictly curse’, MailOnline take a look-back at some of its biggest victims.

Series 1 (2004): Natasha Kaplinsky and Brendan Cole 

Strictly hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons during season one, viewers were transfixed by the apparent close bond between newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky and her hunky partner Brendan Cole. 

Although the pair went on to win the show, their success was blighted by affair rumours. 

BBC presenter Natasha soon split from long-term partner Mike Barnard while Brendan dumped his fiancée and fellow dancer Camilla Dallerup.

Writing in her book Strictly Inspirational, Camilla said their split was like a ‘mini death’.

‘You go through the arc of grief, anger, bitterness,’ she said. ‘My best friend and dancing professionally with Brendan had both gone.’ 

However, Natasha has always denied any wrongdoing, saying: ‘There was chemistry, of course, and I certainly fell in love with dancing, but I did not fall in love with Brendan.’

Series 5 (2007): Matt Di Angelo and Flavia Cacace

Of all the Strictly romances there’s been over the years, this remains one of the most interesting. 

Flavia Cacace was in a long-term relationship with her dance partner Vincent Simone when she was partnered with Matt Di Angelo in 2007. He was eight years her junior.

Before long gossip was raging about how Flavia and Matt, then 19, were secretly in love. Shortly after the show finished she called time on her romance with Vincent and went public with Matt.

Looking back at their partnership, Matt told Daily Mail: ‘It was a pretty crazy time. It was front page news.

‘The funny thing was the story did not start off as true, but the more you read it, the more you started to believe it and actually act on it.’ 

Their romance ended in 2010, and a few weeks later Flavia admitted she was dating her latest dance partner, actor Jimi Mistry, who she went on to marry.

Series 7 (2009): Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna

During her appearance on the Strictly dancefloor, Hollyoaks star Ali grew close to her dance partner Brian Fortuna, sparking speculation among fans that the pair were dating.

At first they denied the rumours, but during a performance of the American Smooth in the final, Brian leaned in to kiss Ali, confirming their romance.

While they finished that series in third place Ali and Brian went onto date for a year before calling it quits.

Series 7 (2009): Joe Calzaghe and Kristina Rihanoff

Former boxer Joe Calzaghe split with his girlfriend of five years Jo-Emma Larvin just a week into the show in 2009. 

The sportsman began a relationship with Russian dancer Kristina Rihanoff soon afterwards.

The pair enjoyed a four-year romance but parted ways after Joe reportedly asked Kristina not to accept a role dancing in a stage production.

Speaking to Hello! Kristina said: ‘He was sick and tired of waiting around for me, and said that if I truly loved him, I wouldn’t have taken the job in the West End.’

Kristina is said to have also wanted children while Joe already has two sons from a previous relationship. 

Series 8 (2010): Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvintsev 

Unfortunately for Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvintsev their relationship didn’t manage to go the distance.

After winning the show in 2010 the pair hooked up, love quickly blossomed and they moved into a London home together.

However, it’s believed Russian Artem’s visa issues saw him having to spend time apart from Kara for months on end and they eventually decided to call it a day in 2014.

Actress Kara welcomed her baby son, Frey with fiancé Marius Jensen in 2018, while Artem has struck up a romance with retired WWE wrestler, Nikki Bella since moving to the US to compete on Dancing With the Stars in 2014.

Series 11 (2013): Ben Cohen and Kristina Rihanoff 

Kristina Rihanoff was forced to defend her romance with Strictly partner Ben Cohen insisting that their relationship only began once his 11 year marriage to wife Abby had come to an end. 

‘He left his wife a year ago,’ she told Daily Mirror. ‘Recently we started dating but we’re allowed to see each other as two single people.’ 

Kristina – who has also dated Vincent Simone and ex partner Joe Calzaghe – said there have been other couples, yet she is the only one to be ‘attacked’.  

She said: ‘Ben’s said it many times and I’ll say it again – I wasn’t involved in the breaking up of his marriage.’

Meanwhile Abby described the split and resultant divorce as ‘the most traumatic thing to ever happen to me’. 

Ben, 37, met Abby in 1995 at the age of 17, and the couple married in 2003 before welcoming their daughters in 2008. He and Kristina now share a six-year-old daughter, Milena.

Series 11 (2013): Rachel Riley and Pasha Kovalev 

On the same series, Countdown’s math whiz Rachel Riley’s relationship with her pro partner Pasha Kovalev ultimately ended her marriage to her husband of just one year.

She wed Jamie Gilbert in 2012, taking part on 2013’s season of the dancing show. By the end of 2013, they had split and she was with Pasha – which she claims began after the show came to an end.

‘On Strictly, you form a close bond with your partner, but there was nothing romantic when Pasha and I were dancing. It was just dancing,’ she told the Mail the following January, insisting there’s no such thing as The Curse.

‘[Strictly] serves as a magnifying glass that shows up pre-existing fault lines,’ she said, explaining the situation. She is still with Pasha today.

Rachel went onto marry Pasha in 2019, and they have two daughters, Maven, two, and Noa, nine months. 

Series 11 (2013): Susanna Reid 

Susanna Reid was another victim of series 11. She was billed as the most popular breakfast TV host and in a 15-year ­relationship when she reached the Strictly Come Dancing final that year.

However shortly after the show ended, the TV host split from her long-term partner Dominic Cotton.

However, mother-of-three Susanna, who was paired with professional Kevin Clifton, said the programme was not to blame for her love problems. 

Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna told The Daily Mirror: ‘I think people think Strictly was bound up in what happened. It wasn’t. Obviously things have been challenging in my personal life but we are getting things sorted.’

Series 12 (2014): Sunetra Sarker 

Actress Sunetra Sarker also announced her marriage split after starring on Strictly.

She parted ways with her husband Nick Corfield after ten years of marriage just before the programme hit the screens.

The couple first met in 1989 while on holiday in Jersey and have a 13-year-old son together. 

However, she said the romance had ended long before her reality show stint: ‘The truth is three years ago me and my husband amicably split up and it obviously had nothing to do with Strictly.’

The Casualty actress, who plays Dr Zoe Hanna in the BBC medical drama, is now said to be dating business partner Scott Carey. Together, the pair set up the food firm Keep Me Fresh. 

Series 12 (2014): Caroline Flack 

Caroline Flack broke up with her boyfriend of a year and a half, Jack Street, after making her way into the Strictly Come Dancing semi-final.

According to The Sun, she was ‘distraught’ backstage at the BBC show, but managed to put on a brave face to wow with her Tango and top the leader board.

A source close to her told the newspaper: ‘It came to a natural end and was mutual.’ 

Some contestants have ended relationships to engage in a romance with their dance partner on the show, but the source noted that in Caroline’s case, this wasn’t the reason.

‘No one else is involved,’ they stated.

Caroline had been seeing music manager Jack for around 18 months and she previously said that he was fine with her working on the talent show despite its reputation.

‘Jack’s been completely fine about the whole curse thing,’ she said, quoted in The Mirror. ‘He hasn’t once been worried’.

Series 13 (2015): Helen George 

It did not take long before the dreaded curse of Strictly struck again.

Actress Helen George announced her split from husband of three years, fellow actor Oliver Boot, after she was revealed as a contestant on the show.

‘I can confirm that Helen separated from her husband some time ago,’ a spokesperson for the star said. She has not been linked to any fellow Strictly contestants or professional dancers.

A Royal Academy Of Music graduate, Helen is best known for starring as Nurse Beatrix ‘Trixie’ Franklin in the hit BBC period drama Call The Midwife.

George has also performed as a back-up singer for Sir Elton John and starred in a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Zippel called The Woman In White.

She met her former partner on set of BBC drama Hotel Babylon, and the couple married in December 2012. 

Following the end of her marriage, Helen began dating her Call The Midwife co-star Jack Ashton in 2016, and they are parents to daughters Wren, four, and Lark, nine months. 

Series 13 (2015): Georgia May Foote 

Georgia May Foote was in a relationship with her Coronation Street co-star Sean Ward when she took part in the 2015 series of the show.

But cracks began to show as it was reported that Sean was enraged with jealousy over her decision to take part, and even allegedly accompanied her to rehearsals at the beginning of her Strictly journey.

Shortly after she finished runner-up in the final, she and Sean announced their split – with Georgia seen kissing her dance partner Giovanni Pernice during a romantic trip to Disneyland soon after.  

However, shortly before rehearsals for the 2016 series began, Georgia and Giovanni called time on their romance after just a year. 

Giovanni moved on with 2018 contestant and former Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts, while Georgia began dating rapper Kris Evans.

Series 14 (2016): Louise and Jamie Redknapp 

Footballer Jamie Redknapp is said to have been offered a place on the Strictly line-up recently, but understandably has refused after the series was blamed for the demise of his marriage to wife Louise.

Louise appeared on the series in 2016, after which she and Jamie were said to be facing marital issues. By the end of 2017, they were divorced.

It was highly-speculated that Louise realised, during the show, that she wanted to get back to work having sacrificed her career for her marriage – with co-star Daisy Lowe said to have helped her ‘rediscover her youth’.

A TV source said: ‘Strictly used to be show that no celebrity ever turned down. But the Curse has changed all that. There is now a genuine concern that appearing on the show can negatively impact relationships. Jamie only has negative feelings about Strictly now. There’s absolutely no way he would appear.’

Louise was also rumoured to have struck up a romantic bond with her pro partner Kevin Clifton, but this has never been confirmed. 

Series 14 (2016): Kevin and Karen Clifton 

Despite the rumours surrounding thrice-married Kevin while he partnered with Louise, nothing seemed to transpire between the two. He was, of course, married at the time too – to fellow pro Karen Clifton.

However, since then, the pair have split up.

Kevin proposed to her, on her birthday, on stage during a performance of Burn the Floor and they wed in July 2015. But in March 2018, they confirmed that they were no longer together romantically.

They have since continued to work together as a pro dance partnership, however, insisting there is no bad blood, and Karen married Jordan Wyn-Jones in June 2022.

Series 16 (2018): Stacey Dooley, Sam Tucknott and Kevin Clifton 

Stacey’s boyfriend of five years Sam Tucknott, 30, revealed Stacey had left him in an interview with the Mail On Sunday in April 2019. He called her dance partner, three-times married Kevin Clifton, 36, a slippery snake.

Sam confronted Kevin in furious video chat where he branded him a ‘proper rat’. He told MoS in an exclusive interview he feels betrayed by the new couple’s romance. 

It has been alleged that Stacey and Kevin’s relationship was an ‘open secret’ on the Strictly tour News has cast shadow over latest series of show, resurrecting the so-called ‘Strictly curse’ that has seen 14 couples split.

The TV presenter, 32, broke her silence on Twitter soon after, insisting there ‘are two sides to every story,’ and they are still together as of August 2022.

Series 16/17 (2019-2019): Katya and Neil Jones 

2018 saw The Curse strike early on in the season, with drama escalating just three weeks into the live shows.

In a new twist, a love square formed when Katya Jones, who is married to fellow show professional Neil, was snapped kissing her celebrity partner, comedian Seann Walsh, on the street outside a pub in London. This took part on Sean’s girlfriend’s – actress and writer Rebecca Humphries – birthday, no less.

The pair brushed it off as a ‘one-off mistake’, despite them kissing and laughing brazenly in public. Since then, Rebecca ‘dumped’ Seann via a Twitter statement.

Seann and Katya did not pull out of the show, with their dalliance a gigantic elephant in the room as they still performed on the series, with Neil on set too.

However, Iin August 2019, just ahead of series 17, Neil and Katya announced their split after 11 years of marriage, the break-up coming just 10 months after her kiss with Seann.

Series 18 (2020): Nadiya Byckkova, Matija Škarabot and Kai Widdrington 

In January 2022, Nadiya revealed she had split from her fiancé Matija Škarabot, with whom she shares her five-old daughter. 

The news broke shortly after she had partnered with married BBC Breakfast host Dan Walker and there were rumours of a romance, which they were quick to dispel.

The professional dancer later revealed that she had in fact secretly split from her fiancé before series 18 had even began and during that time she struck up a dancer with fellow pro Kai – who had been romantically linked to his partner that series – AJ Odudu. 

While Nadiya did not disclose exactly when she and Kai started dating she said in her first interview about their romance that she found him to be ‘kind and compassionate and makes me laugh. I feel very relaxed with him.’ 

Series 18 (2020): Max George, Stacey Giggs and Maisie Smith 

When Max George appeared on series 18 of Strictly he was happily loved-up with Stacey Giggs, whom he had been dating for four years, with the singer taking on the role of stepfather to her two children. 

Yet months after appearing on the show he began a relationship with fellow series 18 star Maisie Smith, who had been linked to singer HRVY during her initial time on the show.  

Max and Maisie are said to have grown close on the Strictly live tour, which took place a couple of months after they appeared on the show together. Stacey then accused her ex of cheating on her with Maisie and reportedly felt ‘betrayed’ by her former beau. 

Series 19 (2021): Tilly Ramsay and Nikita Kuzmin

While they were competing on Strictly together, Tilly and Nikita denied any speculation that they were dating, as the dancer was already in a long-term relationship with Nicole Wirt.

However, in October 2021, Nicole posted a cryptic Instagram message about ‘not being supported’ just hours after she deleted a gushing supportive comment to Nikita and Tilly after their first live show.

Nicole shared a sketch of a figure standing alone beneath the words ‘The Support’ while the opposite side of the image sees a large crowd of people beneath the words ‘The Congratulations’. Nikita added the caption: ‘Don’t get fooled… it be like that.’ [sic]

Since the series ended, it seems that Nikita and Nicole are still going strong, with her continuing to appear on his Instagram. 

Series 19 (2021): Adam Peaty and Eirianedd Munro

In an Instagram statement in August 2022, Olympic swimmer Adam took to Instagram to confirm that he and his girlfriend Eirianedd Munro had split after three years together.

He said that the couple had decided to go ‘their separate ways’ but that their son George, who is two next month, remained their ‘priority’. 

Announcing the news via social media, Adam wrote: ‘Eiri and George, I’m sorry for letting you down. My only interest is for the well-being of our family at this difficult time.’

The split comes Adam raised eyebrows with his chemistry with pro partner Katya Jones on the dance floor last year, with eagle-eyed fans claiming they thought that they nearly kissed at the end of one steamy routine.

After the incident, Eirianedd admitted she had been ‘really emotional’ after her sportsman beau’s ‘near kiss’ with Katya. 

Eirianedd, told fans she took a ‘short break’ from social media after Adam and Katya got very close at the end of their racy Argentine Tango last autumn.

The sportsman’s partner took to TikTok to thank her followers for their support, admitting she was ‘really emotional’ after being trolled online following Adam’s television performance.

A source close to the artist at the time revealed she hoped Katya didn’t get ‘any ideas’ about their close partnership, after posting a tongue-in-cheek TikTok featuring her miming to a track in which the vocalist sings she’ll ‘kill’ the next girl her beau dances with.