Strictly star Nikita Kuzmin travelled to Italy earlier this week to celebrate a very special milestone with his loved ones.
In honour of his 26th birthday, the professional dancer, who recently missed out on the glitterball trophy, jetted off to Rome where he celebrated in style alongside his model girlfriend Lauren Jaine.
© InstagramIn photos shared to Instagram, the Ukrainian-Italian dancer could be seen partying up a storm whilst surrounded by his parents Natalia and Ievgen and his lookalike sister, Anastasia, who is also known in the ballroom and Latin dance world.
One beaming snap showed the Strictly finalist flanked by a pair of metallic '26' balloons, whilst a second photo showed Nikita enjoying a sweet moment with his pet cat.
© InstagramAmongst the carousel of images, Nikita also included two black-and-white images of his rarely seen girlfriend, Lauren, smiling sweetly for the camera.
"Birthday with the loved ones [white heart emoji and ‘26’]" Nikita noted in his caption.
The star's fans and friends inundated the comments section with celebratory messages. "Happy birthday, thank you for being SO fabulous in Strictly, genuinely a highlight of the year," wrote one, while another chimed in: "Happy birthday lovely Capricorn!!! Drink a toast to an AMAZING year".
© BBCA third commented: "Happy birthday Nikita, I'm missing watching you and Layton dance SO much. But I'm glad you're having a nice break" and a fourth added: "Happy birthday you little ray of sunshine".
After losing out in the Strictly final to co-stars Vito Coppola and Ellie Leach, Nikita and his girlfriend Lauren headed to Dubai for some well-deserved R&R.
The loved-up couple, who went Instagram official earlier this year, appeared to be in their element as they soaked up some glorious sunshine and braved the ocean.
Sharing a glimpse inside their sunny break, Nikita was quick to upload a string of snaps on social media. He made sure to include several blissful beach pictures in addition to a plethora of dramatic photos featuring Dubai's glittering skyline.
Unsurprisingly, fans went berserk in the comments section of Nikita's post, with one writing: "Have a wonderful time! You're both looking gorge!" while a second wrote: "Ah, that's a cute snap of you two :) Enjoy your very well deserved days off!"
A third gushed: "That looks blissful and well deserved", and a fourth noted: "Cuties! Have a lovely holiday."
© Getty ImagesWhile it's not known exactly how long the couple have been dating, Lauren has shared several snaps of their time together on her Instagram page, with her first post dating back to the summer.
Although we don't know too much about Lauren's life, it's clear from her Instagram page that she moved to London last year and is a Durham University graduate.
