EXC ‘Strictly Come Dancing wrecked my marriage’: Karen Hauer’s estranged husband Jordan Wyn-Jones tells how their relationship crumbled simply 16 months after their marriage ceremony day because the dance professional waltzed off to rehearsals leaving him house

Behind the glitz and glamour of TV’s Strictly lies a brutal reality that showing on the present could be critically hazardous to your marriage. A lot has been stated of the so-called Strictly Curse, given the variety of relationships involving dancers which have damaged up – with the working whole reckoned to be virtually a dozen.

The newest to undergo such heartbreak are professional dancer Karen Hauer and her businessman husband, Jordan Wyn-Jones. Regardless of solely marrying in June final 12 months, the couple revealed final month that they have been going their separate methods after a ‘powerful’ few months.

The background to their break-up, defined by Jordan in an unique interview with The Mail on Sunday, gives an instructive perception into the pressures of being a part of the Strictly carousel, with dancers being away from house for lengthy intervals, not simply filming the BBC present, but in addition touring the nation with Strictly Come Dancing Dwell!

He stated: ‘It’s a little bit of a love story, a tragic story. I’m extremely unhappy to not be in Karen’s life, and never be on this journey along with her however we’re not proper for one another by way of her profession. I’ll at all times admire her for her profession however it took her away from me rather a lot. She’d be away and I’d be at house alone.’

Central to their break-up was that his want to begin a household clashed with Karen’s dedication to the present as its longest-serving skilled.

Having talked about having kids, they moved from Karen’s house in Wimbledon, South West London, to the North of England the place they settled within the countryside with their 4 canine.

However as an alternative of cosy nights in, Jordan says their relationship turned a sequence of video and telephone calls as his spouse, an American-Venezuelan ballroom champion, travelled across the nation.

Undoubtedly, being a feminine Strictly skilled makes selections about having a child way more troublesome than for many different ladies. It goes with out saying that it might be unattainable to participate within the present whereas closely pregnant.

However with Karen approaching 40, Jordan, 34, had his coronary heart set on changing into a father.

Nevertheless, when a pal alerted him to {a magazine} interview through which his spouse stated she did not know if she needed kids, he knew his dream was unlikely to come back true.

‘Karen’s devoted to her profession, which she has labored actually exhausting for,’ Jordan says. ‘She’s superb and I like her for it. That is one of many causes I needed to marry her – due to how highly effective she is.

‘However we needed various things. There was a plan about having kids however then there wasn’t a plan.

‘Once we first met, we mentioned it. You do say issues like, ‘I need to have youngsters’. And she or he’d talked about to me that she needed to have youngsters with me. However within the interview, Karen stated ‘youngsters aren’t the long run’ – which did make me unhappy. I’ve at all times needed to be a father.

‘I would not say it was a shock however I knew subconsciously at the back of my head… why would she need to have a toddler with me?

‘I would develop into vacant in our relationship. I used to be loving and so caring for her however I used to be vacant due to the state of affairs that we discovered ourselves in.’

When the couple met to debate the journal interview eight weeks in the past, Jordan says they broke down crying as they admitted their marriage was over.

Jordan says: ‘There have been tears on either side. Numerous tears and unhappiness. We did not need to let go of one another however we’re additionally not proper for one another.

‘If we would stayed collectively and we did not have a household, I felt I’d have ended up resenting her. That is the proper second for us to like one another and go away one another.’

Their marriage had collapsed only a 12 months after what Karen had then described as ‘a fairytale’ marriage ceremony, lined by Whats up journal, at Chewton Glen Nation Home Lodge within the New Forest.

Jordan says: ‘Karen has a variety of work on and she or he’s career-driven. That is OK however I want a special kind of help in a companion. I am not saying she did not help me as a result of she did, however she simply wasn’t round.’

Whereas Jordan was Karen’s third husband – she was beforehand married to 2 dance companions, Matthew Hauer and Kevin Clifton, after which dated opera singer David Webb – Kevin had solely been married as soon as earlier than.

He says his relationship with Karen blossomed even earlier than they’d met within the flesh. Jordan, initially from Brighton, was residing in Sydney when he began to observe Karen on Instagram. She adopted him again they usually started to change messages earlier than frequently talking on FaceTime.

Maybe, in hindsight, this unorthodox relationship technique was a clue that life as a Strictly skilled does not make it straightforward to seek out love within the conventional means. However having lived Down Below for 20 years, Jordan had scant thought of the importance of the present and requested Karen to ship video clips of her dancing.

He remembers: ‘I assumed she was lovely. I didn’t know what Strictly was! She was so coy, humble and modest about how good she was. I beloved that about her.’

They communicated on-line for about six months after which Karen requested if he would transfer to London to spend their lives collectively.

Instantly, Jordan booked flights and flew again to the UK for the primary time in his grownup life.

‘We would not even met,’ he grins. ‘Think about how scared I used to be on the aircraft. I would by no means even kissed her. It was actually lovely.’ On the best way to her house from the airport, he purchased some flowers. ‘I keep in mind that they have been yellow,’ he says. ‘After I take into consideration Karen, I see yellow. She’s simply so vibrant. I knocked on the door and we kissed right away. We have been collectively.

‘I by no means had a backup plan. I simply moved in along with her and her canine and began to construct a life. I had a complete life in Australia which I left to be with Karen.’

Out of the blue, he turned immersed on this planet of Strictly – and located the superstar way of life overwhelming. Jordan remembers how he ‘froze’ within the flashes of the paparazzi on the crimson carpet when he and Karen went to the opening evening of Cirque du Soleil on the Royal Albert Corridor.

He stated it was intimidating to satisfy different Strictly dancers and to witness the rigmarole of the present being filmed in Elstree, Hertfordshire, and of the touring stage present. That stated, he does not blame the Strictly Curse and has no regrets about marrying Karen – who declined to touch upon their break up final evening.

‘We used to giggle in regards to the Strictly Curse as a result of it is so foolish,’ Jordan stated. ‘Karen does not have it in her to be untrue and dishonest – she’s simply not that particular person. I simply trusted her. It was by no means a factor in our relationship as a result of after I met her I knew who she was.

‘She does not throw herself at individuals. She’s acquired this respect for herself, respect for her profession, her friends, her job, the BBC.

‘She’s very pleased with being the present’s longest-serving skilled. She’s labored very exhausting and she or he’s so good, she’s such an expert.’

However there was a value to pay.

‘When it was simply us two collectively, there was by no means a entrance. I simply knew Karen. I would by no means identified her as a star. I knew her as my Karen. I used to name her ‘My little Jones’, and she or he nonetheless is for me. I am unhappy, to lose that particular person and I feel she feels the identical.

‘I see it as a love story. We’re going to stay pals. We have not filed for divorce but however there’s nothing to struggle over or be involved about. We nonetheless textual content and it is all pretty and good.

‘Nevertheless, we have been inflicting one another damage. I need a household and she or he’s not there but in her life. It is an actual disgrace. Once we discuss, we nonetheless say ‘I really like you’ We’re simply not proper for one another.’