Former Strictly Come Dancing contestant John Whaite has spoken for the first time about how his participation in the show affected his relationship with his fiancé Paul Atkins.
John took part in Strictly’s 19th series, making it all the way to the final with professional partner Johannes Radebe in what was only the franchise’s second ever same-sex pairing.
In a new interview with The Times, the Great British Bake Off champion spoke candidly about his time on the show, stating that he “fell in love” with Johannes as they continued their training together.
“I can’t speak for him – because I’m not allowed to, legally – but it felt like there was love there,” John told the newspaper.
He went on to say that he made Paul, his partner of 15 years, aware of his feelings for Johannes “all the way through”, explaining: “Paul of all people deserved to understand how I was feeling.
“You go through life being told that you’ll fall in love with someone, you’ll get married, you’ll have children and that’s it. But love can’t just be directed to one person. The heart can easily split into two or three or four. And those loves aren’t mutually exclusive.”
John also shared that he and Paul briefly “spent some time apart” after Strictly came to an end, and that he and Johannes now only speak “occasionally”.
“I love [Johannes] to bits and I worship the ground he walks on, but I have to be mindful that there’s more than my own desires to consider here and if it would be tricky for Paul for me to be in contact with Johannes, then it’s a sacrifice that I have to make,” he said..
“And also for Johannes. He needs to move on with his life too. I hope I always am in contact with him. We shared something really important and that will never be taken away from us.”
HuffPost UK has contacted representatives for Johannes Radebe for additional comment.
The new series of Strictly is due to begin in the autumn, with the 15 celebrities who are taking part being revealed last week.
Among them are news anchors Angela Rippon and Krishnan Guru-Murthy, West End performer Layton Williams and TV personalities Les Dennis and Angela Rippon, as well as soap actors Ellie Leach, Adam Thomas, Nigel Harman and Bobby Brazier.
Check out the full Strictly 2023 line-up here.