Connor Ball and Mollie Pearce 'inseparable' after striking up Dancing On Ice romance

The Vamps' Connor Ball knew "quite early on" that he had an instant spark with Mollie Pearce. The musician and Traitors star Mollie struck up a romance when the latter was appearing on ITV's former show, Dancing On Ice, last year.

Mollie was hot off the mark following the success of The Traitors, where she finished as runner-up behind Harry Clark, while Connor was busy with his music work. Connor had appeared on series 14 of Dancing On Ice in 2022, but knew people competing on Mollie's year.

After the first meeting, the pair struck up a conversation about their experience on the former TV show, and instantly, there was a romantic spark between them. Unbeknownst to Mollie, 30-year-old Connor was keen to see her again and had a secret plan up his sleeve.

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"We met when Mol was on the series," Connor said. He went on to tell the Mirror: "I went down quite early on because I had friends who were still on the show at that point. We met at the after-party, and then I came back on the last show. I told Mol I wanted to go to the last show, but it was probably to see her.

"We've been inseparable since then." But fate once again played a part when it came to planning their first date. "Weirdly, I had a job in Birmingham and Con's from Birmingham, that was our first date. Weirdly, as soon as the show ended, I had a job in Birmingham, and it worked out well."

Since then, their relationship has blossomed, with the couple jetting abroad together and sharing loved-up snaps on their social media accounts. But just one year before Mollie and Connor met, she never imagined that she would find such levels of fame off the back of the show.

"It's massive," she said of the show, adding: "No not at all, I've always said the first season was great, I loved watching it. It did well, but it wasn't life-changing for people; it was kind of like they did the show, they did the game, and that was it. Never did I think I would leave my job and do something different and have the platform I do; it's been a bit mad."

She explained that, to this day, people are often left baffled by the show's concept, which sees contestants banished and murdered – but not literally. But Connor admits he could see himself on the show. "I would love to do it, I've got the best of the best to help," he said, adding: "I'd love to give it a go, I don't think I'd be very good."

Mollie, however, explained that Connor was more suited to being a Faithful rather than a Traitor, a sentiment he agreed with. "My lying game is not up to much," he said. And their relationship is now facing a huge hurdle, with the couple being two days into a mega five-day challenge.

Kicking off on March 30 and ending on April 3, Mollie and Connor are walking five marathons in five days, which is no small feat. "It came about in a few different ways," Connor said of the huge challenge. He added that Mollie had wanted to raise awareness of Crohn's & Colitis UK for quite some time, and that Connor was eager to get on board.

The pair had considered walking from Birmingham to Bristol, both of their hometowns, but Mollie went on a retreat with Challenge The Wild, where she met the founder and CEO, Dan Searson, a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, who also helped Andrew Jenkins of The Traitors with a mammoth challenge.

But Dan suggested the five marathons in five days, Mollie was "nervous", whereas Connor instantly agreed. Training for the couple was "time-consuming", but they found solace with podcasts and the right music; for Mollie, it's Die On This Hill by Sienna Spiro. But they are mixing up their music choices to re-energise both of them.

Mollie lives with Ulcerative Colitis, with her stoma, named Sid, being a huge help with Mollie's day-to-day life. "I was diagnosed when I was 11," she said, and has since educated herself over the years. "The last couple of years, people have been speaking about it more," she said, adding, "But I feel there's a lack of awareness and there's still a taboo around the subject of bowels and using the toilet, hopefully it's getting more people to talk about it.

"It affects so many people, people just don't talk about it, so people don't realise how many people it affects." For Mollie, it took around eight months to be diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis after constant trips to the doctors and hospital. Her symptoms echoed those of her father, who also lives with Ulcerative Colitis, but Mollie was brushed aside by doctors, despite her mum's perseverance.

"If people don't know about it, they believe what they're told and can end up getting really bad and needing surgery, it's a shame," she commented. With the rise of social media, Mollie said it was "amazing" to find an online community after being left scared by "negative" videos about the topic online.

"I think the community is really good on social media for people with IBD now, but there's room for improvement," she said. However, both Mollie and Connor agree there's still a long way to go on social media, especially with trolling on the rise. Despite trolls, the pair laugh at the negative comments and often brush them off.

Mollie and Connor are on a mission to show people shouldn't be afraid to show their stomas, with vile troll comments spurring them on even more. Since finding fame as one quarter of The Vamps in 2012, Connor has learned to appreciate the moment more, having toured the world and topped the charts.

"I think I used to care too much what other people thought of me," Connor said. Adding: "I think in some ways that probably made me a lot more introverted and a bit more shy and probably took things too seriously." Reflecting on what he's learned about himself, he commented: "To just live as much in the present as possible, there's definitely been a lot of tours that I've gone through and not being in the moment and staying in the hotel room.

"I think now you have to realise that you do only have one life and this is a mad opportunity. So you just have to live it as much as you can." Meanwhile, Mollie said The Traitors helped her find her voice and speak out more. "The show just helped me do that, I feel like I found my voice a little bit, and I've kind of I kind of learned how to stick up for myself.

"The same as Con, just to enjoy everything – so much happens and it's crazy all the time, but you kind of forget to enjoy it because you always feel like you're thinking about the next thing. It's important to take a step back and think, 'Wow, I've come a long way from where I started,' and be proud of yourself."

To donate to Connor and Mollie's JustGiving page, click here.

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