Strictly star weighs in on John Whaite bombshell and 'blessing' of show 'curse'

15 August 2023 , 10:18

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Strictly star weighs in on John Whaite bombshell and 'blessing' of show 'curse'

Strictly Come Dancing's Tyler West weighed in on John Whaite's bombshell interview over the weekend, where the latter admitted he developed feelings for pro Johannes Radebe and "spent time apart" from his partner of 15 years, Paul Atkins, after the series ended.

Appearing on Tuesday's episode of Lorraine, Tyler, 27, who found love with fellow Strictly contestant Molly Rainford after competing on the show in 2022, weighed in on the claims with guest host Ranvir Singh, who also appeared on the BBC One dance series in 2020.

Talking about the current showbiz headlines, Tyler said: "Everybody always talks about the Strictly curse, this one actually surprised me when I read it!" He added: "All I want to say, little disclaimer, everybody falls in love with Johannes!" with Ranvir joking: "We all fall in love with Johannes, he is the most ethereal, beautiful, angelic person you will ever meet!"

Strictly Come Dancing's Tyler West weighed in on John Whaite's bombshell interview over the weekend (ITV)

Speaking about his own experience on the show and finding love with Molly, Tyler sweetly added: "Everybody always talks about the Strictly curse but for me, I can't relate, it was the Strictly blessing. I was in a completely different situation obviously with Molly. But you go through this experience, where it's so stressful and you're dancing and training hard, all tired, when you got through an emotional experience like that you naturally become close with people. It was never the case on my series."

Great British Bake Off winner John, 34, made history in 2021 when he and Johannes, 36, became the first male same-sex couple to take to the dance floor. The previous year, Nicola Adams and Katya Jones became the first ever same-sex couple to compete on the show. John has since revealed he developed feelings for the South African dancer while on Strictly, saying he and his partner of 15 years, Paul, "spent time apart" after the series ended.

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Opening up about his experience, he said: "I fell in love with him [Johannes]. I can't speak for him – because I'm not allowed to, legally – but it felt like there was love there. We had such similar stories growing up; the homophobia, the bullying, coming out, coming to terms with our sexuality, as any queer kid would." John then stated: "I still love Johannes. Of course I do."

Great British Bake Off winner John, 34, made history in 2021 when he and Johannes, 36, became the first same-sex couple (BBC)

John has since revealed he developed feelings for the South African dancer (Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

After he left the show, John said he spent "some time apart" from Paul, who moved back in with his parents while John "sat on the patio, drinking bottle after bottle of sauvignon blanc", reports The Times.

However, the couple patched up their differences and are now engaged, with the baker sharing: "I look at Paul and what he’s put up with over the years and how he’s nurtured me and stood by me, and who would throw that away? I couldn’t."

John revealed he and Johannes still keep in touch, but insisted he would "cut all contact" if it became "tricky" for Paul. Concluding he loves his fiancé "to bits", he conceded he has to be "mindful there are more than just his feelings to consider in the relationship".

Olivia Wheeler