Lee Ryan is currently showing off his moves in Strictly Come Dancing, where he has been snapped getting close to his dance partner, Nadiya Bychkova. However, the former Blue band member seemed shared a photo of himself with his on and off girlfriend Samantha Millar, who he previously dated for four years back in 2008 to 2010, and wrote: "If you can't laugh, you'll cry," hinting that the pair had reconciled. Samantha is also the mother of Lee's nine-year-old son, Rayn.
Nadiya Bychkova
Lee denied a romantic relationship with his Strictly professional dancer partner Nadiya to The Sun, explaining: "The two times we have been caught holding hands by the paparazzi, one was when I went to grab her hand to say, 'Let's go in here for a coffee' and there was a pap there. Then I was just grabbing her hand to walk across a busy junction on Marble Arch and then everyone goes, 'Why should he be holding her hand?' Well it's because I wanted a coffee and so she doesn't get run over by the 67 bus. Imagine if I didn't and she was on the floor mangled but I was like, 'No - people will think we're together'."
© Photo: BBCSamantha Millar
The pair seemed to be together in September, after Lee shared a snap of them holding hands in a shopping centre, but the pair have had some difficulties in the past. Sammi accused Lee of assault back in 2010, which allegedly happened in a car while the couple were still together. However, the charges were later withdrawn with prosecutor Laura Tams saying: "I have this morning been handed a withdrawal statement dated 25 August, signed by Samantha Millar. Having taken further instructions there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction. I ask the court therefore to withdraw the charge." Ryan's counsel said: "It has been a somewhat unhappy and volatile relationship… Had this matter been contested, it would have been fought tooth and nail."
© Photo: Getty ImagesREAD: Duncan James addresses Strictly's Lee and Nadiya's relationship
Sammi was also unhappy with Lee's actions in Celebrity Big Brother back in 2014, telling Closer: "What kind of father tells his five-year-old to watch him on TV and then behaves like [that]? Luckily I can shield him from it because he's only five and I wouldn't let him watch the show. But it's vile, the worst thing Lee's done to me. My family are disgusted at his behaviour." She added: "There was never a time when there wasn't a girl on the scene. Every time I checked his phone or he left his Facebook logged in I'd see he'd been messaging all these girls. I remember catching him red-handed texting a girl and arranging a date. He just can’t help himself."
© Photo: Getty ImagesLiz McClarnon
Lee was once engaged to Atomic Kitten's Liz McClarnon in 2003, who opened up about the engagement to Now magazine following their split, saying: "He proposed in a hotel in Oxford. It was nice, I suppose. I got caught up in it. I said yes. But I never actually thought once about getting married or walking down the aisle. You should know it isn't going to happen if you can't picture it and I never did." Lee spoke about seeing Liz again during The Big Reunion, telling New! magazine: "I've talked to her and we've been cool. And then she went funny with me. I sent her a text saying, 'What's up?' and she said, 'Sorry, I just want as little contact as possible.' I said, 'Fine,' so the next couple of days, I totally blanked her. Then she ended up coming back to me and saying, 'Sorry, I don't like this – the way you're treating me.' And I was like, 'Hold on a minute!'" He added: "She definitely has feelings for me. She'll hate that."
© Photo: Getty ImagesJessica Keevil
Lee welcomed his daughter, Bluebell, in 2007 with his now ex-girlfriend, Jessica. Speaking about how excited his daughter was about Strictly, he joked to The Sun: "My little girl’s over the moon that Joe Sugg is in it, she couldn’t give a [expletive] about me!" He added that he was "quite apprehensive" about the show, explaining: "I think not because of the actual show, but because of the media attention around the show, and the whole machine that it is. I love my life, I don’t go to the opening of an envelope, I don’t go to a lot of celebrity events, I’d rather be with my kids, I’m either at work or with my kids."
READ: Lee Ryan declares his 'love' for Strictly partner Nadiya Bychkova in gushing post
Other romances
Lee has also been in short-lived relationships with his fellow Celebrity Big Brother contestants Casey Batchelor and Jasmine Waltz, and has also been linked to Stephanie Saunders, Emily Oldfield and Alicia Douvall.
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