In pictures: The Royal Welsh Show in Builth Wells
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Gabby Logan says she was 'very much aware that people didn't like her' after getting the axe from 'life-changing' Strictly Come Dancing experience
Gabby Logan has reflected on her 'shocking' Strictly Come Dancing experience after being eliminated from the show in 2007. The BBC presenter, 52, was partnered up with professional dancer James Jordan, while her husband Kenny Logan was also competing with James' wife Ola Jordan. But Gabby has now admitted that Strictly had a negative affect on her life as she struggled to cope with feelings of public rejection after being voted off. She told Wales Online: 'I had an amazing experience on Strictly, I was only on it for a few weeks, but I had an amazing experience — but also, a kind of life-changing experience in many ways. '[It] sounds a bit dramatic, and you hear people going 'Strictly changed my life', but this wasn't in a good way.' Gabby was voted off fourth from the BBC competition after unexpectedly finding herself in the bottom two with Rod Stewart 's wife Penny Lancaster. She added: 'When you get voted out of Strictly, it's so shocking, because you go in every week starting to work on your following week's dance, and you don't expect to go home'. Gabby said she became 'very much aware that people didn't like her' during the show and admitted she felt rejected by the public. Speaking to Jessica Ennis on the Gold Minds podcast Gabby added: 'It was the fact that obviously people didn't vote for me — and it sounds a bit pathetic — but you realise when it's a reality show that it's about whether people like you. And I was very much aware that people didn't like me. 'I was kind of like, they didn't like me enough to vote for me.' Despite reassurances from dance partner James, Gabby confessed she felt 'upset' over the situation. She said: 'It was a very sobering kind of experience because in the days afterwards, not only was I dreadfully missing the dancing, but also realising I kind of felt like, 'Oh, what was it about me that people didn't relate to?'' Gabby added that her competitive nature possibly played a role in her departure and noted that her husband stayed in the show despite her opinion that he was a 'rubbish' dancer. Former rugby player Kenny narrowly avoided being eliminated several times before eventually getting the boot just before the quarter finals. Gabby revealed that Kenny even offered to swap places with her after seeing how affected she was by the elimination - although a switch is not permitted. The couple have been married since 2001 and share two children together. The 2007 series finished with Alesha Dixon lifting the glitterball trophy and she later joined the judging panel replacing Arlene Phillips. It comes after Gabby shared why she did not want to have sex with her husband Kenny due to health struggles. She revealed her initial concerns that going through the menopause would have an adverse effect on her sex life with her partner. Gabby, who shares twins Lois and Reuben with her former Scottish rugby player Kenny, explained that she was able to address the problems thanks to the use of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). According to the NHS, menopause symptoms can include hot flushes, mood swings and low mood. The presenter told The Sun: 'My libido was definitely affected by the menopause and perimenopause. 'I found I didn't want to have sex with my husband as much, and it felt like something I was going to have to do even if I didn't really want to. 'It was almost like, ''Is this going to become a duty?'' So many women say this and I didn't want to become one of them. She added that she wanted to regain her sex drive because her sex life with her husband had always been so important. As soon as a doctor prescribed her HRT, she said she was relieved and emotional at the prospect of having an improved libido.
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
If you're going to get dumped, doing so at the altar is for the best
If there was ever a good way to get dumped, it probably isn't at the altar on your wedding day. That's what we'd all assume, at least. There could be nothing worse, surely, than inviting all your friends and family to a celebration that has emptied your pockets only to be left standing alone in an overpriced gown, wondering if your beloved is ever coming down the aisle, and finding out they are not. Well, it happened to Kayley Stead, a Welsh woman who has gone viral on TikTok after sharing the speech she gave after being jilted on her big day in 2022. It turned out to be one of the best things that had ever happened to her, she said. Rather than cancelling the wedding, Stead decided to go ahead, turning the event into a celebration of herself, even delivering an off-the-cuff speech about self-love. Marking the moment with a commemorative TikTok that has had more than 7.6 million views, Stead shared a series of clips featuring herself cutting into her three-tiered wedding cake, dancing with friends, and enjoying herself despite the unlikely circumstances. 'I had to look back on this day for this butterfly effect trend,' she wrote in the caption, referring to the term about how unexpected changes and circumstances can lead to major life transformations, and which has become a big summer trend on TikTok. 'This day will forever be a part of me, not because I was left on my wedding day, but for the fact that I persevered and created a memory with so many loved ones,' she added. 'A day that will continue shaping me for the rest of my life.' Who knew that getting dumped on your wedding day could be so wonderful? Frankly, there are no good ways for someone to end a relationship with you. But doing it in a setting where you're already surrounded by friends and family, with all the pomp and pageantry required to have a commiseration-slash-celebration afterwards, does make some sense. I'm not saying I'd like to be dumped that way, though there have been some instances where it might've been preferable. Or at least a little more inventive. Like the time when my first boyfriend decided to dump me via voicemail. I was 13, and our relationship had thus far amounted to a few snogs and some hand-holding. But still: it stung. There was also the time a guy I was seeing decided to end things with me at The World's End pub (how apt!) in Camden after asking me what I liked about our relationship and letting me rave about him for 40 minutes before admitting he wasn't happy. Sometimes, the best way to be dumped is when it's quick and dirty, like ripping off a plaster. That was the case for a friend whose boyfriend ended their relationship out of the blue, midway through a conversation about attending his sister's upcoming wedding. They'd talked about what dress she'd wear and whether it was appropriate. He helped her choose a dress and then told her their relationship was over, proceeding to pack the empty rucksack he'd brought with his belongings. It was sudden and, at the time, horrific. But in retrospect, the brutality of it helped her to move on quickly. Another friend was dumped with such flair that he considers it one of the most incredible things ever to happen to him. 'It was 1998 and I was in the throes of first love,' he recalled to me via text. 'Having started our relationship on the Eurostar on the way to Paris (for a school trip), we went out for four months, two of which she spent in her native Italy. During her time away, she'd send letters signing off 'te amo.' Then one day a letter arrived, out of the blue, suggesting we go our separate ways. No 'te amo,' just an 'arrivederci'.' Ultimately, there is no really good way for someone to end a relationship with you. It's always going to hurt. And sometimes it will seem as if the ground has just been pulled from underneath you, and all of the joy has drained from your life. But as far as picking your poison goes, would you rather get dumped over a three-hour conversation in a dingy pub? Or with all of your loved ones nearby, waiting to scoop you up and show you how much better off you are without them? I know which one I'd pick.
BBC News
20 hours ago
- BBC News
Cardiff art class friendships spark joy after brain injury
Alex and Simone are entirely comfortable in one another's company after meeting at an art workshop several years pair have more than a love of creating art in common - both are living with a brain Hughes was just 16 when he was hit over the head with a bottle while on holiday with friends. Simone Hughes was 36 when she had a brain haemorrhage."Nobody knows what it's like unless you have it, it's like a knowledge," said Alex, said meeting Alex and others with brain injuries made her feel less alone and able to "let it all go"."It makes you feel normal," she said. Both Alex and Simone attend The Sketcher Project, weekly art classes for people living with a brain injury at Insole Court in Cardiff. The class is run by artist Beth Morris."We don't just do art, we have a good chat and we're friends, we're family," she said."Alex is the king of banter and it is hysterical, they're just great mates." Back in 2009, Alex had just finished his GSCEs and was on holiday with friends in Puerto de Andratx in Mallorca when he was hit over the head with a bottle. He suffered a brain haemorrhage in the attack, was placed in an induced coma and flown back to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff."For the first six months after the attack I thought it was a dream and then I realised it wasn't and it was real," he said. Before the attack Alex had planned to do A-levels and was thinking of pursuing a career in law but everything friendships fell away, he said, he had countless surgeries and then his father died in 2010. The attack has left him with weakness down his left side and other issues such as fatigue and difficulties with went to college but said he struggled, before working in a call centre alongside volunteering for the charity Marie Curie and Rookwood Hospital, where he was able to support others coming to terms with a brain injury. Seven years ago Alex attended Beth's first ever class for those with brain injuries and has been a regular ever Sketcher Project was the idea of Beth's cousin Rhiannon Stokes who runs Barry-based company Stokes Case Management, and has clients living with brain injuries. Her company now funds the weekly Thursday classes so it is free to attend. "It's like an escape," said Alex, who likes to sketch portraits with Biro."For an hour and a half you just focus on one thing, and it's really lovely here. It's like a retreat really."Alex said he sometimes spotted people looking at him because "I stumble and limp as well so I look like I'm drunk all the time" - but at the art class he never feels judged. Simone, who is married with three children, has been coming to the class for more than two 2020 she was working as a support worker when she got a headache."I'd never had one before," she said."I think it took my balance a little bit and I must have passed out, that's all I remember."Unbeknown to Simone she had the condition arteriovenous malformation (AVM) which had caused a brain spent eight months in hospital where she had to learn to walk and talk again. Today she lives with acquired ataxia which affects co-ordination, balance and said she felt able to share both her good days and her bad days with the friends she has in class."It's very comforting because they know what I'm on about," she said. Asked how life has changed since the haemorrhage, Simone's answer is surprising."It might actually be better," she said."I'm getting out more, I'm meeting so many more people, so I suppose I'm doing things that I would never dream of." Former doctor Manon Skyrme, 55, is also a class regular. She too lives with a brain injury after fracturing her skull, neck, back and pelvis in a fall from a second floor window in 2017. Manon has been enjoying success with her art. She has won prizes at the Royal Welsh Show and one of her patchworks is currently on display at Liberty London. For her, art is a way to keep busy and avoid over-thinking."Art classes mean a lot more to me than the actual artwork," she said."It gives a structure to my week and something to look forward to every Thursday and an amazing new group of friends who are all struggling with similar problems to myself."The frequent coffees and chats with her art friends "means a lot", she Simone and Manon all have their work on display at the Inspired at Insole Summer Exhibition at Insole Court until 8 September.
