Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas, 66, is reportedly growing close to Italian dancer Giuseppe Nonnis, 36, after previously stating she had given up on finding love following a string of difficult relationships.

The pair were seen together on a dog walk this week, and later stopped for coffee where Nonnis appeared to put his arm around Ballas. A source told The Sun that they looked "very comfortable together" and "obvious they enjoy each other's company."

The Strictly Come Dancing head judge, 66, and the 36-year-old hunk were pictured out together on a loved-up dog walk this week

Ballas has interacted with Nonnis on social media, leaving flame emojis under some of his posts and commenting on a picture of him with his niece. The pair have also danced together previously, with Nonnis partnering Ballas at events at the Blackpool Dance Festival in May.

This reported new romance comes after Ballas stated last year on a podcast that she had abandoned hope of finding love again, citing her dedication to her career and previous "disaster" relationships. "Every relationship has ended up being a disaster," she said. "I'm obsessed with what I am and with what I do. So it's not just a job for me. I'm married to it. That's probably why I don't have a relationship."

She added, "I don't think I'm put on Planet Earth to have a relationship. With my last boyfriend I thought that I'd found The One and that also didn't work."

Shirley has been single since 2024 when she split from her fiancé Danny Taylor, 53, after six years together

In April of this year, Ballas mentioned she had no interest in dating after her ex-fiancé, Danny Taylor, 53, did "quite unforgivable things." The couple had been together for six years before splitting in 2024. Ballas explained that Taylor's tendency to "disappear" triggered painful memories of her brother David, who died by suicide in 2003.

Before Danny, she was married twice - to fellow professional dancers Sammy Stopford and Corky Ballas

"I was always frightened he was going to take his own life. He was disappearing all the time," Ballas said of Taylor. "It just got to a point where it was so upsetting every time it happened, that I just decided to call it a day. It’s better to be on my own than constantly worrying, stressful, about somebody else."

Ballas has been married twice before: first to professional dancer Sammy Stopford for four years in the 1980s, and later to dancer Corky Ballas from 1985 until their split in 2007. She married Stopford at 19 and later eloped to America with Ballas. The couple welcomed their son, Mark, in 1986. Ballas joined Strictly Come Dancing as head judge in 2017.