Strictly's Lewis Cope Latest Star to Reportedly Fall Victim to Show's 'Curse'
The professional dancer is said to have secretly ended his eight-year relationship, becoming the latest in a long line of celebrity participants whose romantic lives have been affected by the show.
Strictly Come Dancing star Lewis Cope has reportedly split from his girlfriend of eight years, becoming the latest in a long line of participants whose relationships have been impacted by the show's notorious 'curse'. Cope was partnered with professional dancer Katya Jones on the most recent series of the competition.
The alleged breakup comes as the show has a well-documented history of contestants separating from their partners during or shortly after their time on the dance floor. This phenomenon, commonly referred to as the 'Strictly curse', has led to numerous relationship breakdowns over the years.
Past instances of the 'curse' include.
- Series 1: Natasha Kaplinsky split from her long-term partner Mike Barnard, and Brendan Cole ended his engagement to Camilla Dallerup amid rumors of an affair between Kaplinsky and Cole. Both have denied wrongdoing.
- Series 5: Flavia Cacace ended her relationship with her dance partner Vincent Simone and began dating Matt Di Angelo, her celebrity partner that season.
- Series 7: Boxer Joe Calzaghe split with his girlfriend of five years, Jo-Emma Larvin, shortly after the show began and subsequently started a relationship with his professional partner, Kristina Rihanoff.
- Series 11: Model and actress Sunetra Sarker announced her marriage split after starring on the show, though she stated the split had occurred long before her participation.
- Series 13: Actress Georgia May Foote split with her Coronation Street co-star Sean Ward shortly after finishing runner-up, and was later seen kissing her dance partner Giovanni Pernice.
- Series 16: Stacey Dooley split from her boyfriend of five years, Sam Tucknott, after winning the show with professional partner Kevin Clifton. Tucknott publicly criticized Clifton following the breakup.
- Series 16/17: Professional dancers Katya and Neil Jones announced their split after 11 years of marriage, months after Katya was photographed kissing her celebrity partner, comedian Seann Walsh.
Many celebrities who have experienced breakups after the show have maintained that the 'curse' is not the cause, but rather that the intense experience on Strictly exposes pre-existing issues in their relationships or leads to personal revelations. Despite these claims, the pattern of romantic upheaval has persisted throughout the show's history, continuing to fuel public fascination with the so-called 'Strictly curse'.