Congratulations are in order for lovebirds Karen Hauer and Jordan Wyn-Jones, who recently celebrated their milestone one-year wedding anniversary. The couple secretly said "I do" back in June 2022 at Chewton Glen in Hampshire - the exact same spot where Jordan popped the all-important question.
Their "fairytale" nuptials saw family and friends reunite for an intimate ceremony complete with lively dancing, romantic candles and a gorgeous floral archway peppered with peach-hued roses.
© Getty"It felt so special to bring our families and friends together," Karen, 41, previously told HELLO!. "I haven't seen my family for the last two years so it's really touching to bring them here and be able to share this amazing moment with them."
Fast forward to the present day, and we're curious to know what the secret to their happy marriage is.
HELLO! caught up with Karen to discuss her relationship with Jordan, her "furry children" and all things Strictly.
When asked about the secret to her happy marriage, the Venezuelan-born dancer offered a refreshingly candid response: "Counselling. You know what I think communication is massive but learning how to communicate, you know, so we get outside help," she revealed.
"So whenever we're having tricky moments or anything like that, it's just seeing the vulnerable side of each other and understanding it and knowing that both of us are working on things because nobody is perfect."
The pro dancer went on to say: "There is no such thing as a happy marriage or a happy relationship with the perfect couple. It's about dealing with things the right way and not just running away from things, and I guess that's what makes us tick even better and understand one another."
Karen is no stranger to counselling. The professional dancer, who has been battling her own mental health issues since her teens, first sought outside help more than 15 years ago when she was going through her first divorce.
Aside from therapy, Karen maintains that her canine clan - she has four rescue dogs: Marley, Phoebe, Joey and Betty - helps to enrich her relationship with her husband Jordan, 34.
"Nothing compares to the love of a dog… And then when you're sharing that with someone, they see you and they just lighten up and they just can't get enough of you," she explained.
"They can't get enough of Jordan now. And it's amazing to see, especially when you have a bad day.
"No matter how you wake up… What kind of day you have, the dogs are always going to be happy to see you with their tails wagging.
© Instagram"It does bring you closer as a couple and it makes you think about the same things, when you're having an argument and the dog feels it, or when you're both happy, they're even happier that you're happy. So it's incredible to see what wonders the dogs do to a relationship."
On the subject of starting a family, Karen and Jordan seem content with their pet pooches whom Karen refers to as her "little babies." Musing on Marley specifically, Karen laughed: "I know it is going to sound weird, but it is like having a child, but it is a furry child."
Rescue dog Marley came into Karen and her ex-boyfriend's life via the Wild Heart Foundation in Greece. He was discovered as a puppy in the middle of nowhere discarded in a box. And for Karen, "little boss" Marley, Phoebe, Betty and Joey have quickly become her pride and joy.
But it hasn't always been smooth sailing. During her breakup, she and her ex-boyfriend co-parented their rescue pup. The process was lengthy, nonetheless, with Karen admitting: "The most important thing was to make sure that we were both looking after him. And, you know, like anything else, he was our priority. We started scheduling things. Obviously, it's not great when you have to bump into your ex sometimes.
"I guess it'll be a different case for everyone… It's hard to keep that same person in your life for the rest of the time. The most important thing was that the dog was feeling ok with being away from that other person.
© Instagram"It's tricky, but you kind of have to slowly acknowledge the fact that at the end, there's only one person that the dog's gonna end up with, you know, but in the process of it, Marley is a very happy dog."
Dogs aside, Karen hasn't ruled out the possibility of adding children into the mix. "There is always the possibility, but right now, I'm really happy just figuring it out and kind of just living in the moment with my husband and with the dogs," she revealed.
"We'll see. It's not about saying never ever or, 'I'm not going to do this, so I'm not going to do that.' It's just one of those things that will eventually happen. But I'm not in a rush."
© InstagramAt present, Karen is hard at work rehearsing for the upcoming 21st series of Strictly Come Dancing. It will be her 12th year competing as a professional which is a milestone in itself. Whilst the strenuous training is already taking its toll, Karen is hopeful that this year’s extravaganza will be "bigger and better" than ever before.
"It's just quite nice to actually see all these amazing, talented humans that are around us," Karen said.
"Everyone's working, their tooshies off… From what we're slowly creating, it's going to be absolutely extraordinary."
© GettyDespite the building excitement, this year's competition is somewhat tinged with sadness. In July, fellow professional Amy Dowden revealed that she would not be participating in this year's competition after doctors discovered she had "another type of cancer."
Unsurprisingly, Karen and the remainder of the close-knit Strictly family were quick to rally around Amy. Reflecting on her absence from this year's show, Karen poignantly said: "This one's for Amy, all of this that we're doing is for her and the times that we feel tired and the times that we feel like we can't go on and [when] we get upset and we get angry…
"We think of Amy and we think of how much she would love to be here with us - and she is here with us all the time. You know, we're always keeping in touch with her. And this one is definitely for her, all of this that we're doing."
