Rachel Riley says 'horrific' tragedy changed her perspective on marriage to Pasha Kovalev
Rachel Riley has opened up about how a tragic ordeal impacted her feelings towards her husband Pasha Kovalev, who the Countdown star first met on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013
Rachel Riley and Pasha Kovalev who met on Strictly are in a relationship
(Image: PA)
TV presenter Rachel Riley has opened up about how witnessing a friend's experience with domestic abuse made her appreciate her relationship with husband Pasha Kovalev more.
Rachel and Pasha first crossed paths when they both participated in Strictly Come Dancing in 2013. Fast forward six years, the couple tied the knot and now share two children, Maven and Noa.
In an interview with The i Paper, Rachel, 39, shared how observing a close friend go through such a traumatic ordeal made her value what she shares with 45-year-old Pasha.
The Countdown star said: "Watching a friend experience domestic violence made me realise how lucky I am. It made me appreciate that my home – and Pasha – is my sanctuary.
"My friend has managed to change her situation, but the process has been horrific, and it's opened my eyes. I am so lucky to have a lovely home and to be able to set a good example for our kids of what a nice relationship is.
"We have a partnership and security and that's my thing. Pasha is really solid. I'm so lucky. We respect each other. We find each other interesting. We make each other laugh and we talk about all sorts of different things."
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Rachel Riley and Pasha Kovalev
Rachel added: "We come from completely different backgrounds, so we have a different outlook, and we bounce off each other.
"I have changed him and he has changed me, and we can say things openly that the other one might disagree with or might not understand, but we can always talk about things."
Beyond helping her recognise how fortunate she is to have Pasha in her life, Rachel has also felt compelled to champion domestic abuse charities wherever possible.
She explained: "I have become an ambassador for a couple of domestic abuse charities, because I was so shocked by what happened to her."
Rachel Riley and Pasha Kovalev
This marks another occasion where Rachel and Pasha have opened up about their marriage in recent months. Back in March, the pair spoke to BristolLive about the secret behind their thriving marriage, revealing how they incorporate sport to maintain the spark.
Pasha shared: "We try to do it every week, at least once a week, we've been successful so far. [Rachel] loves playing, I [had] never played it until I started doing it with Rachel, but it's great exercise, it keeps you active, it keeps your heart going. Plus, she gets lots of positivity from it because she always wins.
"I think those things are so helpful in a relationship. Find what you like together and start doing it together, even if it's once in a while.
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"If you try and do so many of those things, then you enrich your personal life and your relationship."
If you have been affected by issues of domestic violence or coercive control you can call Refuge's 24-Hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline for free. The number is 0808 2000 247
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