Dancing on Ice star Christopher Dean's family – from famous ex-wives to blended family
Christopher Dean is renowned for his incredible skating career, which has seen him win nine gold medals. The former figure skater also has a starring role on Dancing on Icehaving been part of the show since its inception.
The gold medallist has reunited with his former skating partner, Jayne Torvill, on the judging panel for the 2025 series, but how much do you know about his private life?
Marriages and sons
People often think Christopher and his skating partner Jayne are a couple, but despite their long partnership, the pair have never dated. Jayne has been married to her husband Phil Christensen since 1990, while Christopher has been in a relationship with Dancing on Ice head coach Karen Barber since 2011.
Between 1991 and 1993, Christopher was married to French-Canadian World ice dance champion Isabelle Duchesnay, who he met while helping her and her brother with their choreography. Although Christopher and Jayne were never an item, Isabelle reportedly grew jealous of their close bond. Jayne told the Mirror: "I think she wanted more of him than he could give her and she didn't get that he had a loyalty to me and our partnership."
Following the couple's divorce after two years of marriage, he met and fell in love with American skater, Jill Trenary. The pair tied the knot in October 1994, and went on to welcome two sons together, Jack Robert, 26, and Sam Colin, 24, with the family settling down in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
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After over a decade of marriage, Christopher and Jill decided to go their separate ways. In March 2010, the ITV star's agent confirmed that the couple had split, although they have remained on very good terms for the sake of their children.
The former dancer explained: "That's the good thing. We're not at war. We're actually friends. In Colorado, I now live a minute's walk away from them and go round every day. I pick the boys up for school. Get them ready. Bring them home from school. We are best friends."
Current relationship
News of Christopher's romance with Karen came to light in January 2011, when they were photographed kissing outside a London restaurant. A few days later, Karen confirmed that her 21-year marriage to skating coach Stephen Pickavance had ended some time before; the former couple share two daughters, Emma and Laura.
Karen and Olympic gold medallist Christopher went on to release a joint statement, explaining: "We have been great friends for more than 30 years. Following recent media speculation, we feel the necessity to confirm that this year has seen a change in our relationship, but we are taking things very slowly, as it is early days. We'd very much like to thank our dear friends, who have been so incredibly supportive to us. We both have families with children, so we ask the media to please respect their privacy."
Like Christopher's other partners, Karen is also a professional ice dancer and she competed in the 1980 and 1984 Winter Olympics alongside Nicky Slater.
The couple now reside in Buckinghamshire and have a blended family of six.
