Strictly's Shirley Ballas' marriage split due to husband's affair with co-star

Daily Mirror

4 days ago

Shirley Ballas has been married twice, with her second marriage to Corky Ballas ending in divorce after he had an affair with a former Strictly Come Dancing star
Shirley Ballas, the head judge on Strictly Come Dancing, saw her second marriage to Corky Ballas crumble when he began a romance with a former star of the BBC programme.
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Shirley married American ballroom dancer Corky in 1985, twelve months after her first marriage to Sammy Stopford had ended.
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The couple relocated to Houston in America and had their first child, Mark Ballas, who would later become a professional dancer on Dancing With the Stars.
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However, their marriage fell apart in 2007 after Corky became involved with his dance student, Kristina Rihanoff, who was nearly a decade his junior.
Despite the five-year romance, Shirley maintains it started after she and Corky had separated but before their formal divorce was finalised, reports Wales Online.
Shirley, who became head judge on Strictly in 2017, holds no grudge against Kristina, who left the BBC programme before Shirley replaced Len Goodman.
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"I've had lunch with Kristina. I'm a people person. I love people," she told The Daily Star in 2017.
When questioned whether Kristina's possible comeback to Strictly would cause any problems, she responded: "It would be absolutely fine. I have no issues with anybody being on the show at all."
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Professional dancer Kristina Rihanoff has made headlines throughout her career, both for her performances and her relationships. She first made headlines back in 2009, when she was linked with former boxer Joe Calzaghe, a romance that lasted until 2013, reports the Mirror.
That same year, she found herself thrust into the limelight again following her pairing with ex-England rugby legend Ben Cohen, who separated from his wife.
Meanwhile, Shirley Ballas, who has also experienced her fair share of romantic upheaval, has recently called time on her six-year romance with actor and fellow dancer Danny Taylor, aged 51.
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Shirley disclosed they had broken off their engagement, though had remained an item afterwards.
However, sources suggest it was their demanding schedules and long-distance arrangement - with Shirley residing in London while Danny was stationed in Liverpool - that eventually led to their split.
Their romance kicked off in 2018 when they both starred in Jack and the Beanstalk, with Shirley admitting she was smitten from the get-go, despite Danny being with another partner at the time.
"We met on panto as friends. It didn't really take off until March... for him. I fell in love way before... I think for me it was [at] first sight. He was going through a difficult time in his relationship," she remembered. Shirley Ballas shared a sweet tale about their courtship, admitting: "We did become friends and then probably in about February I said, 'I love you Danny' and he said, 'I know'. It took a while," she joked.