Strictly Come Dancing star Aliona Vilani has said her husband "didn't care" about the romance rumours surrounding her and Jay McGuinness. The pair faced constant speculation about the nature of their relationship during their time on the BBC show, but Aliona says they weren't fazed by the rumours.
"Me and Jay actually didn't really care at all what the papers were saying, because we know what's true," Aliona told Digital Spy at the TRIC Awards. "My husband knows what's going on. That's all that matters and when people want to create stories that's up to them, that's cool, whatever.
Aliona said her husband "didn't care" about the rumours surrounding her and Jay
"I don't think people really know me as a person – which is great – but I really didn't care and the best thing was that my husband didn't care."
Aliona added that she and Jay would spend a lot of time with her husband Vincent Kavanagh during training, so he knew it was just speculation.
The pair won the series in December, and Aliona announced that she was quitting the show just a few days later, which she has admitted is because she wants to start a family. Now the 31-year-old has suggested that the training schedule is too intense to manage a healthy work-life balance.
The pair won the 13th series of Strictly Come Dancing
"Strictly is a really full-on show, so basically you have to take five months out of your life," she said. You don't see your friends, you don't see your family, you don't have any days off.
"Let's say I want to start a family and have a baby – I don't want to take five months out of my life and not be with my child, especially in the beginning. So I think I really had to step away."
Aliona had been a professional dancer on the popular entertainment show for seven years, and previously told fans that she had known all along that the 13th series would be her last. Announcing her decision to leave the show on Twitter, Aliona wrote: "Going into this Strictly Come Dancing Series 13, I decided that no matter what would happen, it will be my last one. After 7 years on Strictly Come Dancing, as my finale, this has been my best Strictly experience ever by a long way!"