Lee Ryan has not shied away from his feelings for his Strictly Come Dancing partner Nadiya Bychkova. Cementing their close friendship, the EastEnders actor professed his "love" for the Russian beauty as he shared a sweet selfie of the pair during dance rehearsals. "Love this girl to bits! She pushes me to places I never thought I could go physically and mentally," he gushed in the caption. "Even when I don't think I have anything left she makes me feel like I can keep going to get better and better!"
© Photo: InstagramLee Ryan heaped praise on his Strictly partner Nadiya Bychkova
He continued: "@nadiyabychkova you're a Russian spy with special powers like a black widow, I swear it!!! Thanks for being amazing xxx." The post comes shortly after they dazzled crowds with their first live dance, which saw them take on the Waltz to Take It To The Limit by The Eagles. Fans immediately rushed to show their support, with one saying: "You can tell you're enjoying it @officialleeryan, have lots of fun this weekend!" Another said: "She's doing a great job making you work hard. It's paying off. Good luck this week. You were awesome last week."
MORE: Lee Ryan reveals future on EastEnders ahead of Strictly Come Dancing debut
Speaking about their performance on Strictly spin-off It Takes Two, Blue singer Lee shared: "I was genuinely so scared, I didn't have time to be cheeky and fun." He added: "It's a romantic dance as well. When we danced with each other, we really felt the music and we felt that the dance was so passionate so it deserved to be respected in that way. I didn’t want to mess around." Earlier this month, Lee and Nadiya were pictured cuddling and holding hands, sparking rumours about the infamous 'Strictly curse'. However, Nadiya is in a relationship with Slovenian football player Matija Skarabot - with whom she shares a young daughter with, while Lee is dating Samantha Miller.
READ: Duncan James addresses Strictly's Lee and Nadiya's relationship
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