Nadiya Bychova might be one of Strictly's most talented stars - but the show is by no means her greatest achievement. The 33-year-old tells HELLO! with every confidence: "Being a mum is my biggest success," as she opens up about her special bond with her six-year-old daughter Mila.
"Mila is going to dance school and she started the same way I did, with Latin and Ballroom and Ballet," Nadiya reveals. "At the same time, she is a beautiful singer and she sings when we are getting ready for school. She's a little artist, too. She loves to draw and she's so good at it. But I'm not sure where she got it from.
"Mila is very creative and will definitely follow a creative path. Whatever she wants to do, as long as it makes her happy then I'll be happy."
Taking her daughter to dance classes no doubt brings back childhood memories for Nadiya, whose grandmothers did the same for her when she was growing up.
She says, "I was surrounded by women. They all shaped me. They all were great women and are great women. My mum's mother, my grandmother, is still in my life very much and I am very much like her. They have had a big, big impact on my life."
Nadiya rarely posts pictures of her daughter on Instagram
Family is certainly important to Nadiya – and when it comes to motherhood, Nadiya is following the example of her mum Larysa, whose unwavering support helped her achieve her dreams. "I wouldn't be here talking to you without my mother, she made it all possible for me," the star confides.
"I had a dream and she was always there to support me. She sacrificed everything in her life. She moved places for me, she was there… I'm lucky to have her and she's still helping me with Mila. It's very important to have that support in your life, I am trying to follow her."
Watch Strictly lovers Kai Widdrington and Nadiya Bychkova perform a romantic rountine...
Before becoming a mum herself, Nadiya closed her chapter of competing in world championships. Having been a multiple-time Slovenian Ballroom and Latin Champion and two-time World and European Champion in '10' Dance, there was only one more title she set her heart on achieving: mum.
"It would not be possible to give myself so much to a sport and then still be a mum because it took a lot of me travelling and dedication to training up to 10-12 hours a day," she explains, adding: "I think it all worked out very well for me."
She is the only professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing who is also a mum
Now, she choreographs her life around raising her daughter and the demands of her starring role on Strictly Come Dancing. Nadiya is the only Strictly professional who is a mum competing on the show and she says in fact it is her daughter who spurs her on to chase her own ambitions.
She says, "When everyone is having a day off and resting, I'm waking up in the morning and taking my daughter to places which I absolutely love because that gives me so much energy to follow my dreams. It balances my whole life. I have a great life and an amazing career but there is nothing like being a mum."
Falling in love with fellow pro dancer Kai Widdrington, 27, on Strictly has been a happy surprise, too. "It is beautiful that dance brought us together and we met on the show," Nadiya said of their romance. "And now we're creating our own tour. That was always my dream to have my own dance show to take around the country."
Nadiya and Kai are madly in love
While competing on Strictly can be tough at times, Nadiya has a secret when it comes to achieving a happy work-life balance. The dancer likes to "dream big", with lifting the glitterball trophy still on her list, but admits it is her daughter who remains at the centre of her world at all times.
"I always wanted to still do what I love most - which is dancing - and now I am in one place and being a mum," she tells us. “Being able to do what I do on the show, to do my own shows and the tour, it is a lot of sacrifices but I make it work.
They met on Strictly Come Dancing
Careful planning is key, she admits: "All of my life I was very organised and now being a mum, you need to be even more organised. My mum is here helping me a lot. I plan my daughter's life, my life around that and my mum's life around that… I’m honestly living my best life. I'm doing what I love most and I have a beautiful daughter."
Their mother-daughter bond is very special. Mila joins Nadiya almost everywhere she goes and has done so since she was six weeks old – although now the youngster has some important commitments of her own.
Nadiya says, "Now it's a bit more complicated, she can't miss school. Before she was travelling everywhere with me. This little person is building her own life slowly and she's busy, she has her dance classes and her after school clubs, she loves it all. I think I miss her more than she misses me!"
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