Rachel Riley's life including first marriage, Strictly romance and TV feud

Daily Mirror

a day ago

Rachel Riley has been a recognisable TV personality for over 10 years and she's about to take on her biggest challenge on ITV's Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters
Rachel Riley is an English TV presenter, who is best known for co-hosting Channel 4's daytime puzzle show, Countdown.
The mathematics graduate also appears on the show's popular comedy spin-off, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
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Rachel, who was born in Rochford and raised in Southend-on-Sea, first joined Countdown at the age of 22 following encouragement from her mum in 2008.
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Her interest in maths and science has also led her to appear on The Gadget Show on Channel 5, ITV's It's Not Rocket Science and Sky Sports ' Friday Night Football.
Now, let's take a look at Rachel's life away from the popular Channel 4 gameshow as she joins the cast of Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters on ITV1.
Who was Rachel Riley first married to?
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Rachel married millionaire businessman Jamie Gilbert in 2012. The pair met while they were both studying at the University of Oxford.
They briefly called time on their relationship in 2009, before rekindling their romance in 2011 and settling down in Essex.
Rachel and Jamie separated after 16 months, with the couple announcing their divorce while Rachel was competing in the 2013 season of Strictly Come Dancing.
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Rachel later explained that her various TV commitments ended up taking a toll on their short marriage.
"At that time, I was doing Countdown and The Gadget Show, so I was living in Essex, I was filming in Birmingham and in Salford, and then filming Strictly in Borehamwood, with a bit of It Takes Two in London," she told GQ at the time.
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"I was getting three hours' sleep a night, trying to fit in all these things... All you want to do at that time is the dancing because you know you've got to do this thing in a few days."
The Countdown star went on to explain that Rachel was "still friends" with her ex-husband, adding: "It was the emotional distance that I needed to break away."
Who was Rachel Riley's Strictly romance with?
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Rachel found love again with professional dancer Pasha Kovalev, who she was partnered with during her time on Strictly Come Dancing.
The couple got together in 2014, and surprised friends and family with a whirlwind Las Vegas wedding in 2019.
"So, we were never bothered about getting married, but then we just were like 'shall we just get married' once were were having the baby," Rachel previously told the Express.
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"And actually, we had such a nice day. It was really lovely. But we only decided the week before."
Rachel and Pasha have since welcomed their two daughters, five-year-old Maven and three-year-old Noa, and often keep fans up to date with their lives via social media.
Who did Rachel Riley have a TV feud with?
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Rachel has been rumoured to be in a feud with her former Countdown co-star Anne Robinson.
The Weakest Link star previously revealed that she had quit Countdown over a pay dispute, and insisted on Rachel and Susie Dent's microphones being switched off.
Rachel then ignited feud rumours when she confessed that Anne "might make you cry", and that the show's atmosphere became more fun after Anne had left.
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Anne has since denied a fall out between the pair. In May, she told The Telegraph: "It's just a story. Rachel was a bit talkative when I was interviewing the contestants but once we shut her up it was fine."
Rachel quickly responded to Anne's comment, telling The Sun: "If Anne needs to mention me for publicity, then good luck to her. I have the same opinion of her as most people do."
She added: "I don't pay any attention to what she says."
Countdown is available to stream on Channel 4 and Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters kicks off on ITV1 and ITVX on Monday, July 14 at 9pm