We’ve both got one thing on our minds: winning!
Dancing on Ice duo go for gold
She’s a drill sergeant… I’m ready for SAS: Who Dares Wins now!
THE chemistry between Dancing On Ice stars Miles Nazaire and Vanessa Bauer positively sizzles, so it’s a wonder it hasn’t melted the rink.
Made In Chelsea’s Miles, 28, has even claimed to make his pro skating partner “giddy”.
So to hear he has found a new love during the hard months of training doesn’t come as much of a surprise.
But it’s not with 27-year-old Vanessa… it’s with himself.
OBSESSED
For Miles is not the Gen Z devil-maycare reality star his previous career path might have led you to believe.
He signed up for the ITV show after being diagnosed with muscle dysmorphia – a mental disorder where the sufferer becomes obsessed with needing to work out because of their skewed vision of their own body.
But since joining the show, the hours of tough training have forced Miles to ditch his destructive old habits.
And he has Vanessa to thank for helping him improve his mental health. Miles says: “She’s the perfect partner because we both want to win… we want to compete really well and prove that a Chelsea boy can actually put in the work and perform.
“100% she’s whipping me into shape though! I’ve lost nearly 10 kilos of weight since training.
“The mix of me not drinking for the last eight months and now training this much in such a different way [ from the gym] has seen me lose a lot of weight. You have to be more streamlined, if you like.
“A lot of people have said to me that actually, they prefer my body now because I look a lot more athletic.
“I’m so proud of what we’re doing with Dancing On Ice, where we are and how we look.” On the surface, all this talk about weight and muscles could sound flippant. But when you suffer from the condition that Miles does, it’s anything but.
“It’s a perfection trap,” he says. “And perfection that you’ll never attain.
“The issue that I’ve realised with muscle dysmorphia is you don’t like the way you look, and you’re so obsessed with the way you look that anything you do doesn’t look right in the mirror.
“The biggest thing that helped me come out of it was understanding how your body moves. When you sit down,
you’re not going to have a six-pack all the time.
“If you eat a little bit more one night or if you’re stressed, you bloat. You start understanding how the human body works, and when you do that, you’re a bit more relieved.”
Westminster-born Miles, who is the son of a sculptor and an art school founder, graduated from the famous BRIT School in 2014.
He first became known in 2018 after joining Made In Chelsea, and quickly made a name for himself as a lothario. But despite the on-screen chemistry with Vanessa and their passionate dance routines, Miles is keen to stress he’s not the playboy that fans think. And as for rumours of a romance with Vanessa?
“Funnily enough, it didn’t click when we met,” he says. “I think she maybe wasn’t sure the type of person I was. I get it… I come from reality TV and I think there is unfortunately a very heavy opinion about people like myself in reality TV.
“I think the first week, when she got to see this completely different side of me, she was like, ‘Wow, you’re not what I expected you to be. You’re actually just very kind and goofy and work really hard’. And I think as soon as I showed that, she was really happy.
“I connected with her on another level. It took a week to properly get that connection.”
But he adds: “There’s no chance of romance, no… We obviously have a real good giggle and we laugh our heads off. And we’re more stupid than anything else.
“I think I bring out the giddy side of her, which is nice. [But] there’s no flirtatiousness in it, which I really like because otherwise it would’ve taken away from what we’re actually trying to do – win.”
Miles has got the right partner for lifting the Dancing On Ice trophy anyway as Vanessa is renowned for getting the most out of her celebs.
And the hard work is certainly paying off after Miles was awarded a 9.5 for his routine last weekend.
He jokes: “She’s a drill sergeant. I’m ready for SAS Who Dares Wins now!”
■ Dancing On Ice is on ITV1 tomorrow at 6.30pm.