Strictly Come Dancing star Stacey Dooley recently split up from her boyfriend of five years Sam Tucknott, and the personal trainer has now spoken out about their shock separation. The 30-year-old has opened up about his heartbreak in a series of interviews, and claims his ex has become close to her dance partner Kevin Clifton. Sam told the Mail on Sunday that while initially he was supportive of Stacey and Kevin's working relationship and was rooting for them to win the show, he felt concerned after seeing text messages sent from Kevin, including one that read: "I love dancing with you and spending every minute I can with you."
Stacey Dooley's ex-boyfriend has spoken out
Sam also revealed that their relationship wasn't the same after Strictly, and that while he was happy to have his girlfriend back after the show finished, things didn't go as he'd expected. He revealed that by Christmas he still felt that something had shifted between them, adding: "I could just sense that something was up and I didn't know what it was. I thought maybe she was tired, but she had just won Strictly – she should have been buzzing."
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Stacey with dance partner Kevin Clifton
Sam then says that he confronted Stacey after discovering that she had sent some cupcakes to Kevin while he was in Glasgow. His girlfriend apparently told him the gift was just for the launch night of Kevin's show, and that she wanted to wish him good luck. After her hectic schedule at the start of the year, Sam stated that he then "poured his heart out" to Stacey, and told her he didn't want to be without her. "And then she went away again. We had that conversation and she packed her bags and she went away," Sam added. He claims that by the end of March the pair began making arrangements to separate. Sam then went on to reveal that when he met up with Stacey again to discuss moving her belongings and trying and save the relationship one last time, he saw a message from Kevin on her phone, which he told The Sun read "I love you." Sam added that he had then confronted Kevin on FaceTime.
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If Sam's claims are true, it won't be the first time that Strictly partners have fallen for each other. The long-running Strictly curse struck earlier in the 2018 season too, with Katya Jones and her partner Seann Walsh making headlines when they were pictured having a kiss, despite the fact Katya is married to Strictly dancer Neil Jones. Other couples to have fallen for their dance partners from the 2018 series include Joe Sugg and Dianne Buswell, and Ashley Roberts and Giovanni Pernice. HELLO! have contacted Stacey's reps for comment.
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