Strictly stars who had babies after meeting their partner on the show – including couple expecting their second
Strictly is famous for its relationship curse but a lucky few couples have waltzed to happiness – and even have had their own tiny dancers.
Choreographer Janette Manrara and show partner Aljaz Skorjanec have announced they are expecting their first baby.
The professional ballroom dancers are over the moon after Janette, 39, struggled to conceive for more than two years.
They were about to start IVF when the Cuban-American discovered she was pregnant.
She told partner Aljaz by handing him the positive test and, in an interview with Hello! Magazine, described how they “cried and hugged”
Janette said: “I know that IVF can be really strenuous on a woman’s body and there is no guarantee it will work, so to know that this little miracle just came from a wonderful night we had together is amazing.
“I think the baby decided to make Mum and Dad panic a bit before saying, “ok, fine, I’m coming up now.”‘
Janette and Aljaz aren’t the only Strictly couple to welcome a potential ballroom champ…
Kevin and Stacey
Dancer Kevin Clifton won more than the glitterball when he finally lifted the Strictly trophy after five years of near-misses.
He landed dance partner Stacey Dooley and the pair had baby daughter Minnie in January this year.
The couple stormed to victory on the show in 2018 and Kevin recently said: “Who would have thought? If someone told us back then that in four or five years time we’d be having a baby, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
Kevin, 40, and TV presenter Stacey, 35, have both said they are “obsessed” with Minnie.
Kevin has even admitted to having dad guilt when working away.
Kev, currently starring in Strictly Ballroom: The Musical, said: “I do feel a little bit guilty sometimes when I’m on the road. Like I miss them as they’re obviously at home, but I do get a night’s sleep.”
Stacey showed off her incredible post-baby body in a crop top after returning to documentary-making just a month after giving birth
Gemma and Gorka
Actress Gemma Atkinson and dancer Gorka Marquez were paired with other people on the BBC hit show – but ended up doing the two-step.
Gorka was partnered with Alexandra Burke in 2017 while his fiancé danced with Aljaz Skorjanec.
Both made it through to finals with their respective partners only to be beaten by actor Joe McFadden.
But ex Hollyoaks star Gemma, 38, and Gorka, 32, were winners in love and announced their engagement on Valentine’s Day 2021.
They had their baby girl Mia in July 2019 and earlier this month announced they are having a second child.
Sharing a stunning snap of her blossoming belly, Gemma wrote on Instagram: “Impossible to hide my belly any longer. I’ve officially “popped”. Our baby boy will be joining our family later this year.”
Gemma previously talked about how she ‘resented’ Gorka because he was able to go back to work three days after she gave birth to Mia.
Talking on Lorraine she said Gorka’s work commitments – which “were not his fault” – meant “nothing had changed for him”
Spaniard Gorka was also upset at being away from his new family, confiding in fellow dancer Giovanni Pernice.
Gemma said: “Giovanni texted me and said Gorka hasn’t been himself. He got really upset saying “I don’t wanna be here, I wanna be at home with you and our baby.”
‘It’s just as hard for the person going back to work. You resent each other’s situation a bit.’
Gemma has described parenting as “rewarding but tough” saying: “You look at this little human that you’ve got to keep alive.”
Rachel and Pasha
Countdown star Rachel Riley has a love-hate relationship with Strictly despite meeting her hubby on the show.
She was said to be a victim of the Strictly curse – which reputedly causes celebs to fall in love with dancers – after her 16-month long marriage broke up not long after being partnered with Latin champ Pasha Kovalev.
But Rachel and Pasha are deeply in love and now have two children together
Rachel denies the ‘curse’ was behind her split from ex-huband, millionaire James Gilbert, saying they had been together since they were 19 and things just “weren’t right.”
While Rachel met the love of her life on Strictly she can’t now watch the BBC programme after it left her with PTSD due to crippling stage fright.
Rachel and Pasha told the world they were expecting in May 2019 and married a month later in Las Vegas in a hush-hush ceremony.
They kept the wedding ‘so secret’ that the majority of their friends and family were said to have been completely unaware of the nuptials.
Rachel, 37, and Pasha, 43, had daughter Maven in December 2019 and her sister Noa in November 2021.
Rachel previously described Pasha as “the best dad in the world” adding: “He’s amazingly patient and will let me sleep in in the morning and look after her when I’ve been up working late.
“He’s taken to being a dad like a duck to water.”
Ben and Kristina
Ex-rugby player Ben was one of the first stars hit by the ‘curse’ when he left his wife and started dating Russian dancer Kristina Rihanoff soon after.
Ben, 44, split from wife Abby after 11 years of marriage but he and Kristina appear to have found lasting happiness after getting engaged last year.
The couple have a six-year-old daughter Milena together but Kristina, 44, has ruled out having any more kids after becoming step-mum to Ben’s 14-year-old twin daughters Harriet and Isabelle, who he shares with Abby.
Kristina said of her family: “Your life rotates around them, and they make your life special, and there’s nothing better than being a mum.
“Being a mum made me a better person and I’m forever grateful for that because living all my life in the superficial world of dancing is self-centred.”
She described Milena as her fiance’s mini-me saying: “She’s Ben in a dress.”