Strictly Come Dancing couples who found love on the show and where they are now
The Strictly Come Dancing season is nearly here, with the BBC revealing this week the celebrities who will be taking to the dance floor.
Among those set to strut their stuff are Gladiators legend Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (known to fans as Nitro), Love Island champion Dani Dyer, presenter Vicky Pattison and EastEnders' Balvinder Sopal.
Joining them will be model Ellie Goldstein, The Apprentice's Thomas Skinner and YouTube sensation George Clarke, among others.
These stars will follow in the footsteps of Tasha Ghouri, Pete Wicks, Sarah Hadland and JB Gill, who all participated last year, while Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell took home the glitterball trophy.
Dianne will be back alongside Amy Dowden, who had to withdraw last year due to an injury following her battle with cancer, while Gorka Marquez confirmed he will not have a celebrity partner, reports Edinburgh Live.
Additionally, two new professional dancers, Alexis Warr and Julian Caillon, are joining the series, with the BBC yet to announce which celebrities they will be paired with.
In past years, once training sessions begin, Strictly has been awash with rumours of the infamous Strictly curse, with several professional dancers having met their future partners on the show. Meanwhile, couples like Ola and James Jordan, and Janette Manrara and Alijaz Skorjanec, are married to their fellow pros.
Before the cherished BBC contest makes its comeback with a fresh lineup of celebrity contestants, we've delved into some of the personalities who discovered romance on the programme previously, and where they are now.
Gorka and Gemma began dating in early 2018 after meeting on the 2017 series of Strictly, where she was partnered with Alijaz, and he and Alexandra Burke came runners-up.
When rumours initially began swirling of their romance, Gemma claimed the couple may start dating "once the series is over" before going public with their relationship months later.
In February 2019, they confirmed the news they were expecting their first child together, and their family grew with their second child in 2023.
The couple, who starred in their own reality series, got engaged on Valentine's Day in 2021, and often share sweet messages of support to each other on social media and snippets of their family and home life.
Last year, Gorka spoke about the emotional toll of being separated from his family during Strictly season, saying he gets feelings of "sadness, guilt, for going away for however long it is" and feels "a sense of failure" for not being there.
Meanwhile, talking about the "balance" they have with family life at home, Gemma told Metro: "I was on my own for a while before I met Gorka and so was Gorka. I was doing so well and he was doing so well, and that's what brought us together and it's kind of always stayed that way. I know Gorka doesn't need to be with me and I don't need to be with him. It's a choice which makes us value each other more."
Reigning champion Dianne met her now-partner Joe on Strictly in 2018, when they were paired together.
The Aussie dancer and YouTube star made it all the way to the final together, and confirmed their romance not long after when Joe penned on Instagram: "I may not have won the glitter ball, but I've won something a million times more special."
The couple moved in together just months later and share snippets of their relationship on social media.
Earlier this year, Dianne hinted she was ready for the next step, when gesturing to her ring finger on a podcast, which left her Strictly partner Chris McCausland quipping: "It's the one Joe's done nothing with."
"Exactly, we need to remind Joe what that finger holds. That finger is feeling very lonely, it needs something to weigh it down with," Dianne replied.
She had previously told The Mirror: "Joe and I don't really talk about that kind of thing. We're both so relaxed so we just play it by ear. We really enjoy each other's company so much and whatever happens, happens."
Stacey and Kevin were partnered together on Strictly in the same year as Joe and Dianne, and went all the way to lift the glitterball trophy.
At the time, she was dating her ex-partner but the couple split not long after and Stacey and Kevin announced that they were in a relationship in 2019 after months of speculation.
In a BBC interview around the time, she explained how they were friends before anything turned romantic, saying: "Then you win together and you have Christmas and then January, you think, 'Oh where is he? Oh, I liked hanging out with him.'
"So yeah, it was much later down the line for us. We were pals for a long time."
The couple moved in together in 2020, and announced they were expecting their first child together in 2022, welcoming daughter Minnie the following year.
Addressing marriage in an episode of Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over, Stacey had previously said: "Kev and I have been together for two years.
"I don't think I want to get married. I think I'd be more interested in starting a family than getting married."
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One and iPlayer in September.