Tom Dean, who was the first celebrity to be booted off the dance floor during this series of Strictly Come Dancing, seems to have fallen victim to the Strictly curse that has affected the relationships of both professional dancers and celebrity contestants throughout the show’s history.
Olympic swimmer Tom, 24, has sadly split from his girlfriend Charlotte Phillips, whom he had been dating for a year. The medal-winning star, who was paired with pro Nadiya Bychkova on the dance show, was the first celebrity to leave Strictly this year following a dance off with Toyah Willcox and Neil Jones. However, a source has told MailOnline that the series had nothing to do with Tom’s relationship break up.
"Like in so many breakups, Tom and Lottie's year-long relationship had naturally run its course and it has nothing to do with Strictly,” the source said. “It just happened to be in the first two weeks that they decided to part ways. They are still good friends and it's all amicable between them."
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Tom’s professional partner, Nadiya, had her own break up earlier this year from fellow Strictly dancer Kai Widdrington, and there have been reports that things between them are “tense” on the Strictly set.
In a recent chat, Nadiya revealed: "We work together but we are not friends and that's okay. One thing I can tell you is that when you see me dancing with him it will be amazing because I'm a professional."
The Strictly Curse
Other supposed victims of the Strictly curse include former pro Brendan Cole, who split from his fiance, fellow dancer Camilla Dallerup, in 2004 during the very first series of the show. Celebrity couple Louise and Jamie Redknapp also broke up after she appeared on the show, while pro dancers Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace were also together until Flavia ended the relationship and began dating her celebrity partner on the show, Matt Di Angelo. Most notoriously of all, of course, was the shared kiss between dance partners Katya Jones and comedian Seann Walsh in 2018, that took place despite both of them being in long term relationships at the time.
However, when the news of their romance broke, Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood gave his own view on the Strictly curse during an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show. "My take was keep them in the show, make them do the Dance of Shame, if you like. I’m just saying it’s really important that if this does happen to you, you face up to it and you either, as they’ve done, apologise which is absolutely fine but get on with the job and show people what you’re made of and show people, ‘Ok, this is what I did, I’ve been employed to do this job, I’m going to go on, do the job, get on with it and do it well and do it professionally.’"
The End of An Era
Tom's departure from the show was met with shock from both viewers and Nadiya, his professional partner. The pair were eliminated in the first week of the competition, after a dance-off against Toyah Willcox and Neil Jones.
Despite their short time together on the show, Tom and Nadiya have remained close since their departure, attending the Pride of Britain Awards together in October and enjoying a lunch event together at The Waterside Inn last week. Tom commented on a post Nadiya shared of the pair: "What an afternoon. Best food and best company."
While Tom's relationship with Charlotte may have ended, it seems the Strictly curse may be alive and well. Only time will tell if any more couples will fall victim to its spell.
