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The Irish Sun
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Inside DWTS judge Karen Byrne's engagement bash in local pub as singer fiancé's famous brother put on show for guests
DANCING With The Stars judge Karen Byrne and her music star fiancé marked their engagement in style with a boozy pub bash. The celebrity dancer, 33, and her Liverpudlian boyfriend, 3 Karen Byrne and her fiance Jake Carter celebrated their engagement on Friday 3 Karen and Jake threw a big bash in The Foxhunter in Lucan 3 Karen and Jake's close family and friends were pictured at the event The lovebirds met over eight years ago when Jake was partnered up with romance . Now, the happy pair have celebrated their engagement in an all-night shindig at their local pub. The couple chose The Foxhunter in Lucan - which is close to where Karen grew up - as their location for the event. The boozer also allowed them to bring along their beloved pup, Lenny. Jake told the dogs in, so me and Lenny are there all the time." READ MORE IN KAREN BYRNE The pair partied with their nearest and dearest into the early hours of Saturday morning with the fun flowing all night. DWTS judge DWTS executive Adam McGarr, who paired Jake and Karen on the show back in 2018, was also spotted at the celebrations. Paralympian Most read in News TV Jake, who is renowned as the brother of country-music star , The Wagon Wheel singer had the entire pub up on their feet as his whole band played through the night. Jake Carter pays tribute to girlfriend Karen Byrne ahead of debut as DWTS judge Jake gushed: "We had the party in their function room and kept it small enough, it was close family and friends. And it was lovely, a really nice night. 'Then afterwards there was a bit of karaoke when everyone and anyone got up and sang a song…. the whole band, Karen, Nathan… and some were better than others." Jake said his 85-year-old nan, Anne McCoy, took on the role of host and ensured that everyone was having a good time. WEDDING PLANS However, the musician revealed: "Grandad didn't make it over, but we are going to do another little get-together in Liverpool for some of my family that didn't get a chance to come over." His parents, Ian and Noreen, and sister, Kiara, did make it to Friday night's bash, while Karen's parents, Grainne and David, and her sisters Lynn, Ash, and Michelle, also joined the happy couple. The star explained how Friday night was their first opportunity to celebrate their engagement as they both had a heavy work schedule. He remarked: "I have been flat out between gigging and tour managing with Nathan, and Karen has been so busy after Dancing with the Stars ." And when it comes to planning the big day, Carter laughed: "This was the only date we got where everybody was off, so God knows how long it's going to take before we do the wedding ."
The Irish Sun
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
‘The public knew before me', says RTE's Karen Byrne on being unaware of on-screen chemistry with Jake Carter during DWTS
DANCING With The Stars judge Karen Byrne and her fiance Jake Carter are the perfect example of friends to lovers. The professional dancer, 32, and the singer , 26, began their whirlwind romance back in 2018 on the hit competition. 2 Karen Byrne and Jake Carter met on season two of DWTS 2 Karen and Jake have been in a relationship for seven years Credit: Instagram But, to many people's surprise, it wasn't until after the series had wrapped that next level. Karen told I can't remember when we officially said that we were together. I enjoyed company and he was my best friend on the show. " When the show finished I realised that I wasn't going to see him every day. Then we started meeting up after the show and I realised that I liked him. " READ MORE IN KAREN BYRNE The Dubliner admitted that she was totally oblivious to their obvious chemistry on screen. She joked: "The public seemed to know before me. They said they knew there was something going on between the two of us! "That was nice to hear, because I certainly didn't know." When Karen returned to DWTS for season three, she said: "I told the production team that Jake and I were together and they said they knew he was mad about me." Most read in News TV The celebrity choreographer added: "We were great friends before anything happened and that's always a good foundation of any relationship . Karen Byrne announces engagement to Jake Carter "There was something there and it blossomed into a relationship." The cute couple currently live together in a cosy apartment in Lucan, And Jake pulls his weight around the house too, with Karen telling the RTE Guide: "Jake is very domesticated now. I think he did all the housework when he was living with Nathan. "I did have to teach him how to cook, but he does all the washing and cleaning with us." SAY 'I DO' Back in March, Jake plucked up the courage to get down on one knee and The smitten star proposed to Karen in the same place they met seven years ago on the show. Karen stood in total shock, with her hands to her face, as Jake begged her jokingly: "Well, say something, Jesus!" However, Karen was still in absolute disbelief, asking him: "Are you actually for real Jake?" He then sealed the deal and asked her: "Is it a yes?" With Karen responding: "Yeah, oh my God!'
The Irish Sun
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
‘This is what I do for a living', rages RTE star reigniting Samantha Mumba Eurovision row & defending ‘honest' actions
DANCING With The Stars judge Arthur Gourounlian has hit back at Samantha Mumba after she blasted him and other Eurosong judges for their "unnecessarily rude and vile" comments. 5 Arthur Gourounlian has reignited the Eurovision row with Samantha Mumba Credit: Sportsfile - Subscription 5 Samantha Mumba raged about comments made on her performance during the RTE Eurosong Credit: RTE 5 The Eurosong judging panel consisted of Arthur, Laura Fox , Donal Skehan and Bambi Thug The Irish panel, made of TV chef judge and last year's Irish Eurovision entrant Mumba lost out on a chance to represent In an online rant, unhappy Sam insisted the judges — apart from Bambie — weren't 'factually qualified for the job' and were 'a bunch of absolute bozos'. Irate Samantha also branded them 'unnecessarily rude and vile' and said she hoped they 'choke on a bag of gone off d****.' Read more on Eurovisionn Singling out choreographer Arthur, she said he was 'a dancer with no formal training critiquing a song/songwriting contest is laughable at best'. But Arthur told The Irish Sun: 'My CV speaks for itself. I am not going to boast about it. 'I'm a nice person and what happened with Samantha wasn't nice. If you go on a show like Eurosong, you expect to be criticised, and if you don't want to be criticised, don't go on. 'No one forced Samantha in that competition. I am judge on TV. This is what I do for a living and I have to be honest. Most read in News TV 'But I had nothing against Sam. It was the song she sang and we were judging a song for the Eurovision Song Contest.' Despite the flak, Arthur, 44, said he would judge on Eurosong again because he feels part of the legacy of the competition having worked with Eurovision winners. Judge's blown away by Emmy's performance He said: 'If RTE asked me to come back and judge on Eurosong. I would do it in a shot'. Arthur was speaking at a promotional event for Newbridge Silverware launching their brand-new Legendary Blue Box campaign — a tribute to timeless style and craftsmanship. His husband Brian said: 'Arthur trained himself. He was living in "So he trained himself. It didn't stop him touring the world with so many amazing people.' SUPPORT SHOWN Following the row, some of the other Eurosong contestants came out in support of Mumba after her tirade at the panel. In the aftermath of the contest, songwriter Reylta, 25, likened the panel to a bunch of mean girls 'trying to outdo each other' with their put-downs. 'HAD TO CONSOLE PEOPLE' She told 'We were telling each other, 'Don't listen to them, what they're saying is not true.' 'I had to console people and other people tried to console me.' Unhappy Reylta said the judges could have given their comments 'with a bit more dignity'. NO REGRETS She added: 'It felt like a couple of girls talking away to each other in a bar, like the people weren't right behind the curtain listening.' But rising star Reylta — dubbed Alt-Folk Queen — said she had no regrets about taking part in Eurosong and had been well treated by RTE. And Ireland's Eurovision Song Contest rep Emmy also said she was 'scared' of the Irish judges. Emmy said: 'I love 'And because we are humans with feelings. . . we have feelings, even though we put ourselves out there so panels – when music is what we do – make comments, it can be really scary, yeah, because we have feelings.' 5 Emmy was selected to represent Ireland at the Eurovision in Basel, Switzerland Credit: Splash News 5 Some Eurosong contestant backed Samantha Mumba after the row Credit: Andres Poveda LTD
