After THAT kiss, curse of Strictly strikes again!
Dancers to divorce 10 months after Katya’s kiss with comic
AFTER she was caught drunkenly kissing her Strictly Come Dancing celebrity partner, Katya Jones and her husband Neil insisted the indiscretion would not wreck their marriage.
Yesterday, however, the couple announced they were splitting, ten months after the controversy caused a scandal at the BBC.
The dancers, both professionals on Strictly, celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary this month, and have been together for 11 years. Now they are the latest couple to fall victim to the so-called curse of Strictly.
During the last series, Mrs Jones was spotted in a passionate embrace with her dance partner, comedian Seann Walsh, on a boozy night out.
Walsh’s long-term girlfriend immediately ended their relationship, but the Joneses insisted they were staying together and continued to dance alongside one another.
In an official statement yesterday they said their marriage had become more of a friendship. They said: ‘After 11 years, we have made the mutual decision to separate.
‘We will always love each other, just in a different way as friends. This will never change what a great team we make and we are really proud of everything we have achieved together.
‘Our shared love of dance means we will keep working and dancing together as well as exploring individual projects. No matter what we do we will always support and respect each other.
‘We wish one another every happiness and we will remain the best of friends. We are really looking forward to getting back to the ballroom and can’t wait to keep on dancing.’
There were calls for Mrs Jones and Walsh to be booted off the show after the kissing scandal, with the BBC reportedly concerned it could ruin the programme’s family image. Walsh’s girlfriend, comedian Rebecca Humphries, released a devastating message accusing the comic of emotional abuse.
She also said the pictures of the pair kissing in the street were taken on her own birthday, when Walsh had failed to come home to celebrate with her.
Mrs Jones apologised online, calling it a ‘one-off mistake after some drinks’. She added: ‘I love my husband and we are very happy together, this is not a reflection on our relationship.’
A spokesman for the pair insisted that their decision to part was not due solely to the Walsh kissing scandal.
‘We will always love each other’