Sam Quek is heading to the ballroom for series 22 of Strictly Come Dancing. The Olympic hockey player is married to property entrepreneur Tom Mairs, who you may recognise from his 2010 appearance in The Secret Millionaire.
Their first meeting and wedding
Sam and Tom, who first crossed paths in a bar in Liverpool, have been married for six years after tying the knot at Chester Racecourse in 2018. Coincidentally, they had both attended the same school but had never met before because they were in different year groups.
Tom is Sam's biggest supporter
Sam's biggest cheerleader, Tom has supported her throughout her career and was spotted cheering her on at the Rio Summer Olympics in 2016. He also shared that he was "unbelievably proud" after watching Sam take part in the sixteenth series of I'm A Celebrity later that year.
In a recent interview, Sam, 35, told HELLO! and other outlets that her husband was "dead excited" after learning that she'd signed on to Strictly, even though her announcement didn't quite go to plan. After getting the call while she was with her two children – daughter Molly and son Isaac – Sam raced to tell Tom and her parents, who were together at the time.
After calling her husband and telling him that she was popping to her parent's house with some news, Tom began wondering what she might say. "Tom just turned around and went, 'You're not pregnant again, are you?' And then I told them the news."
Tom is a property developer
According to his Instagram bio, Tom is currently a Student Property Developer and the owner of the largest beef gristle mill in Europe. The son of a multi-millionaire entrepreneur, Tom attended Calday Grange Grammar School before studying at the University of Liverpool. Tom later appeared on The Secret Millionaire in 2010, becoming one of the show's youngest-ever participants.
He's appeared on TV with Sam
Tom made a return to television in 2016 when he teamed up with Sam to compete on For What It's Worth, a series they would watch together on Skype when they were apart. They were triumphant when they competed – and used their winnings to buy hockey sticks, Team GB hats and flags which they handed out in Rio when Sam headed to the 2016 Olympics.
