A contestant from this year’s Strictly Come Dancing is said to have separated from their girlfriend, though the break-up is reportedly ‘nothing’ to do with their time on the BBC show
Former Strictly Come Dancing contestant Tom Dean reportedly split from his partner Charlotte Phillips during his short-lived stint on the latest series of the show.
Olympic swimmer Tom, 24, is said to have quietly ended his relationship with Charlotte two weeks into the series. The romance had reportedly “naturally run its course” and the break-up was “nothing” to do with the BBC show.
It’s been stated that Tom’s dance partner Nadiya Bychkova, 35 – who is newly single herself, following her recent split from Kai Widdrington, 29 – was not a factor. Tom and Nadiya became the first pair voted off Strictly this year on September 29.
A source told the Daily Mail: “Like in so many breakups, Tom and Lottie’s year-long relationship had naturally run its course and it has nothing to do with Strictly, it just happened to be in the first two weeks that they decided to part ways.” The source added: “They are still good friends and it’s all amicable between them.”
Tom is understood to have not posted about Charlotte in some time. He’s however kept fans updated on his friendship with Nadiya since appearing on Strictly. The former dance partners have remained pals since their unexpected exit and attended the Pride of Britain Awards together, alongside other contestants and pros from the latest series, just a few weeks ago.
Whilst at the annual awards ceremony, Nadiya spoke about her split from colleague Kai. They began dating in 2022, whilst both on Strictly, but it was announced earlier this year that they had parted ways. Speaking to the Mirror at the event last month, when asked about the break-up and if they were friends, she said: “We work together but we are not friends and that’s ok. One thing I can tell you is that when you see me dancing with him it will be amazing because I’m a professional.”
During his time on Strictly, Tom performed a tango and a cha-cha-cha prior to being voted off. Tom and Nadiya ended up in the first dance-off of the series, which they lost to singer Toyah Willcox, 66, and her dance partner Neil Jones, 42, who were themselves voted out of the competition the following weekend. Following their exit, Tom said that he was “gutted” to have left Strictly. He described their departure as a “genuine shock” but said there was “nothing more” he could have done.
Addressing the experience, he wrote in a post on Instagram at the time: “The journey may have ended a little earlier than I hoped and of course I am so gutted, but I’m so grateful for all the amazing people I met, people I’ll be cheering on throughout and who I know will continue to smash it. And to my brilliant partner [Nadiya], thank you so much for everything. You’ve been an amazing teacher and to have danced alongside you has been an absolute privilege. Over and out Strictly! You’ve been an absolute blast.”
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