Strictly Come Dancing's Karen Hauer admits split with Kevin Clifton 'got really nasty'

Wales Online

5 days ago

Strictly Come Dancing's Karen Hauer admits split with Kevin Clifton 'got really nasty'
Strictly Come Dancing pro Karen Hauer has split from her third husband, fitness professional Jordan Wyn-Jones, just 16 months after they tied the knot
Karen Hauer and Kevin Clifton
(Image: Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Strictly Come Dancing star Karen Hauer has separated from her husband, fitness expert Jordan Wyn-Jones, following a 'difficult' period in their relationship.
‌
The surprising development emerged after the professional dancer was spotted without her wedding ring at the Pride of Britain Awards last year, merely 16 months after the pair exchanged vows.
‌
A source revealed to the Mirror it's 'deeply saddening for both parties' but emphasised there is 'absolutely no animosity between them', stating: "The split is amicable, and they wish each other the best."
‌
Jordan represents Karen's third marriage, following her initial union with former dance partner Matthew Hauer and her subsequent relationship with fellow Strictly professional Kevin Clifton - who began dating his current partner, Stacey Dooley, five years ago.
Karen admitted she felt 'completely blindsided' by the speed of Kevin's new romance in 2018, leaving her 'battling to get out of bed'. The performer characterised the separation as the 'most challenging time of her existence' and credited her rescue dog Betty with helping her persevere through her ordeal.
The couple, who wed in 2015, first encountered each other whilst performing in the New York production of the long-running live dance spectacular Burn The Floor in 2011, reports the Mirror.
‌
Karen Hauer has opened up about the collapse of her marriage to Kevin Clifton
(Image: WireImage)
During that period, Kevin remained married to his second wife, ballet performer Clare Craze, whom he encountered at a London salsa venue in 2007 before marrying at St Mary's Church in Clare's native Wivenhoe, Essex.
However, their marriage deteriorated after relocating to the UK with the production, and Kevin - who had previously married amateur Latin world champion Anna Melnikova in 2003 - began his relationship with Karen shortly afterwards.
‌
Kevin once revealed Venezuelan professional dancer Karen was everything he had been searching for. He admitted: "I wasn't myself - a lot of friends and family were telling me that. It was just a bit of a weird time. When I met Karen, I could get on with her on a completely different level."
In 2015, he popped the question on stage during a performance of Burn The Floor on Karen's birthday, and they tied the knot in London later that year.
However, reflecting on their whirlwind romance, Karen told Closer magazine it might have been too much, too soon. She admitted: "I don't think we were ready for marriage. We were still growing as performers, as people, as lovers, and sometimes you just can't find the right way to fix things."
‌
Kevin proposed while the pair were on tour
By 2016, whispers of trouble in their relationship began to circulate, and Karen recently disclosed their relationship "got really nasty overnight" as she grappled with escalating jealousy.
"It's six years down the line and things started going wrong, just little things, like a phone call, like, 'You didn't call me the whole day','" she shared on The Divorce Club podcast.
‌
Speaking about Kevin's response to her concerns, she added: "Sometimes I would get the 'You're not very kind, you're not very nice' and I was like 'What do you mean? I don't understand.' There were little attacks that we would do to each other."
But according to Karen, the deterioration truly began when she held on more desperately to the marriage due to her own feelings of insecurity - a decision which only sparked further arguments.
She explained: "Then the fights, I was getting jealous, but I was only jealous because I wasn't getting the attention that I wanted from my husband and then I didn't understand why so I started gripping, trying to pull him. 'Why are you not doing this? Why are you not doing that?' Exactly what you're not supposed to do, I just wanted answers. And then it just got really nasty overnight."
‌
Kevin and Stacey share daughter, Minnie, born in January 2023
(Image: mirror.co.uk)
They attempted counselling, but Karen said there was "too much anger and emotional baggage" for it to be effective. Eventually, they awoke one morning, glanced at each other and 'knew' it was finished.
"Eventually we both couldn't take it anymore," she added. Kevin and Karen announced their separation in early 2018 but carried on working alongside each other on Strictly, which naturally made moving forward more challenging.
‌
Particularly as Karen confessed she'd hoped to rescue their marriage. "I would have never let go of it. I wouldn't have never, never let go of it," she continued.
"I would have liked to have fought for it and it took me a year after we separated to actually let go of him. It took me a long time to cut the umbilical cord that I had connected to him. Because it was connected for such a long time and at a completely different level than my first marriage, because this marriage was what I was always looking for."
Karen and Jordan have now also split
(Image: Instagram)
Article continues below
While couples therapy didn't work for them, Karen underwent her own therapy following the relationship breakdown and mended her broken heart. She revealed to the Mail Online in 2018: "I've taken a big hit. I had to realise that I'm 36 years old. I'm not a kid and it has taken me a lot of therapy and life coaching to get through this. I have found it really difficult."
At the time, Karen explained she attended therapy twice monthly and received hypnotherapy to address her anxiety.
Kevin subsequently began dating his 2018 Strictly partner Stacey, whilst Karen moved forward with opera singer David Webb. The duo have remained mates and consistently champion each other's professional endeavours, with Karen amongst the first to praise Kevin and Stacey on their 2018 victory, whilst he supported her and celebrity partner Jamie Laing in 2020.