How Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton denied Strictly curse allegations amid her break-up
The Strictly Come Dancing winner and Glow Up presenter has denied that she was a victim of the infamous ‘curse’ despite claims from her ex-boyfriend
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Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton found love after being coupled up on Strictly Come Dancing.
The pair were a smash hit on the dance floor and were praised by the judges for their chemistry on the dance floor during the 2018 series..
The documentary maker and pro dancer were training up to eight hours a day, longer than any of the other couples, forming a very close friendship.
Their gruelling training regime and Stacey’s documentary work commitments meant that she rarely saw then boyfriend Sam Tucknott, who she split from on Boxing Day that year.
The couple’s split was announced in March 2019 after the strain of the Strictly tour reportedly left their relationship in tatters, but there was no suggestion of any romance with Kevin.
However, there were continuing growing rumours Stacey had fallen for her former Strictly mentor, which she adamantly denied.
Hitting out at speculation, Stacey insisted that her partnership with the Grimsby-born dancer was purely platonic before her split from Sam was announced.
“The truth is Kevin and I are brilliant friends and he’ll be my pal for life,” she told The Times Magazine in Feburary 2019.
“And Sam was probably the most supportive he has ever been. When I first got the gig he was just so made up.
“He was dancing around our living room. And every week he’d say, ‘Listen to Kevin. Kevin knows best,” Stacey added. “He was a dream.”
Stacey has repeatedly insisted that nothing happened with Kevin during the show and she is not a victim of the infamous ‘Strictly Curse’, despite now being in a relationship with her professional partner.
Many couples have fallen for each other while dancing together on the BBC One show, with some even leaving their existing partners to be with their new love interest.
Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid and pop star Louise Redknapp also left their relationships after dancing with Kevin.
But the documentary maker said she resisted falling for Kevin while they were paired together on Strictly because she thought it would be “cheesy”.
Stacey claimed they didn’t get romantic until after the show finished, therefore she did not fall victim to the curse.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5’s Headliners podcast in March this year, she said: “I didn’t want to be such a cliche – it’s so cringe and cheesy. I want to be cooler than this. Kev and I were pals for such a long time.
“I liked hanging out with him. So it was much later down the line for us.”
However, Stacey’s ex-boyfriend painted a very different picture, claiming that he had missed worrying “red flags”.
Lifting the lid on Stacey and Kevin’s romance, Sam claimed to have rumbled what was going on between the pair when he found incriminating text messages on his then girlfriend’s phone.
While Stacey was in the toilet as they were clearing their things from the flat, Sam stated that a message flashed up on her phone from Kevin which read “I love you” with a red love heart.
Blaming Kevin for the collapse of his relationship with Stacey, Sam angrily confronted his ex’s new man on FaceTime.
“He went white. I just stuck it on him: ‘You’re an absolute rat, how you conducted yourself. Just a slippery, slimy snake.’,” explained Sam to The Sun.
“He didn’t say a word, he looked petrified, so shocked.”
He added: “He’s an absolute complete f***ing rat with no b******s or decency to hear me out. The fact he won’t have a man-to-man conversation with me says everything about the guy.”
Stacey and Kevin’s relationship has blossomed but they have tried to keep their private life out of the spotlight.
Opening up to the Guardian about their relationship, Stacey said: “Kev and I have agreed not to go into too much detail about our private lives because you can’t really indulge that and then ask for privacy.
“That’s why we’ve turned down interviews that have offered us tens of thousands of pounds.”
She added: “What I am happy to say is Kev’s amazing, I’m happy, life happens, I’ve got an amazing career, and I’m very lucky.”
Their relationship has gone from strength to strength – with Stacey even discussing the possibility of having kids.
While she believes Kevin would make a great dad, Stacey is worried about bringing children into the uncertain world we are living in.
“He is an angel. He is the kindest man I’ve met. His temperament is very chilled and he would be an amazing father,” she explained.
“I think I want to have kids, I’m sort of back and forth. I love the idea of having a gang, a unit, an us against the world.
“I love all that. And I would to take care of someone. But I’m also quite morbid and because I’ve seen so much s**t, I think what am I bringing them into.”
The dancing duo have been dropping subtle hints here and there that they are ready to take the next step in their whirlwind romance.
There has even been speculation that Kevin, who announced he was quitting Strictly after seven years on the show last year, may be ready to pop the question.
Despite the fact the professional dancer has already been married three times, a source sloe to the pair claimed he feels that his relationship with Stacey is set to last the test of time.
“Yes, Kevin has been married three times before, but he really feels that Stacey is the right person for him and this time will be different,” an insider told heat magazine.
“He would love to propose and everyone thinks that Stacey would say yes. She says she’s never been this happy and that’s mainly because of Kevin.”
Kevin has been married three times before, but that does not worry Stacey because she knows how much they mean to one another.
He first got hitched to amateur Latin world champion Anna Melnikova aged just 20. The pair were dance partners from 2002 to 2006 and tied the knot in 2003.
After splitting he met trained ballet dancer Clare Craze in 2007 and popped the question within six months, but they broke up after three years.
Kevin’s most famous ex-wife is fellow Strictly star Karen Hauer, who he married in 2015, but they announced their separation in 2018.
“Stacey doesn’t care that he’s got three ex-wives. She knows that he will make a great husband,” insisted the insider.
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