Strictly's Karen Hauer shares moment she knew she was 'losing' Kevin Clifton and reason for split

Edinburgh Live

27-05-2025

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Strictly Come Dancing star Karen Hauer recalled the moment she realised she was 'losing' ex-husband Kevin Clifton.
Karen, 43, met fellow professional dancer Kevin, 42, when they were performing together in Burn The Floor in New York in 2011. Their relationship blossomed and the pair married in 2015.
It was in 2012 however that the-then couple decided to try and move from the United States to the UK to take part in Strictly Come Dancing. The pair had both danced on Broadway and around the world while Karen had previously starred in So You Think You Can Dance in America.
Strictly bosses recruited Karen as one of the professional dancers, but Kevin was resigned to being a choreographer for a series. Speaking on We Need to Talk with Paul Brunson, Karen says the couple found adapting to Strictly 'tough'.
Eventually the couple found themselves drifting apart from each other, but Karen says neither of them wanted to initiate the split. It led them to 'pretend' they were still together for the show.
(Image: Getty Images)
She said: 'I felt that he distanced himself from me but I was probably doing the same because I felt if he didn't want me, I would retreat and give him his space. It was one of those that we're both not talking about it so I'm like, 'Do you want a divorce? Do you want to split up? I don't know what I want to do, what do you want to do? Do you know what I want?', 'I don't know what I want', 'Okay so are we broken up or?'
'It took a while actually, it took about a year behind the scenes. In front of the scenes everything was normal."
Karen says she became frustrated 'waiting' for Kevin to decide whether they wanted to remain together. It is then she says she 'met someone' else.
And while she was separated from Kevin at the time, she says she was portrayed as having cheated on her husband. It prompted Kevin to ask for a divorce she explained.
She said: 'In my mind, it's almost like something had to happen in order for him to make a decision because I wasn't going to make a decision and pull the plug. Then I tripped and the grenade went off, I pulled the pin.'
(Image: PA Archive/PA Images)
Shortly before the split, Karen says there was a poignant moment on Strictly that made her realise she was 'losing' Kevin. She explained: 'There was one number that we did, and it was right before we broke up. It was for Remembrance Day and he was playing a soldier and I was taking the jacket off the table and dancing with it.
'Throughout the dance he comes back and dances with me and goes in and out of my life until I finish dancing with the jacket and placing it back on the table, it was literally I'd lost him and it was the end.
'I remember when we finished that, we looked at each other, and we record this in front of an audience as well, so they only give you one or two takes, so you have to get it right, that sentiment. And the sentiment wasn't hard to get into that story because I was experiencing it, because I was losing him.'
A year after confirming their split, Kevin was partnered with Stacey Dooley on Strictly. Their relationship blossomed and they confirmed their romance in January 2019.
The couple now share daughter Minnie together. Karen meanwhile remarried in 2022, tying the knot with Jordan Wyn-Jones.
The couple however split in 2024. Karen is now dating rugby player Simon Davidson.