Strictly judge Shirley Ballas' love life from cheating scandal to toyboy romance and rival punch up

Shirley Ballas, the esteemed head judge of Strictly Come Dancing, has had her fair share of tumultuous relationships, including a shocking encounter with a woman who once told her she'd slept with her then husband.

Shirley, 63, recently announced her relationship to Danny Taylor had broken down, she's also experienced marriage twice and has also been left with deep emotional scars following past romances.

When it comes to love's highs and lows throughout the years, Shirley has always worn her heart on her sleeve, speaking honestly about some harrowing experiences and about not feeling good enough.

Following a period of estrangement, Shirley astounded fans after she recently reconnected with her ex-partner Corky. She took to Instagram to share a cheerful selfie with him, celebrating their reunion and hinting at future projects by captioning: "Meeting up with Corky Ballas, father to our wonderful son and Grandad to Banksi. Back working together, simply awesome."

We delve into the Strictly star's eventful love life.

First marriage

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She tied the knot with dance partner Sammy Stopford when she was just 18. They walked down the aisle in 1980 and conquered many great things together in the world of dance, snatching titles such as Professional Latin at Blackpool in 1983.

As a pair they were simply unstoppable but after just four years of marriage, the twosome decided it wasn't working and they filed for divorce - but are still believed to be friends to this day.

In 2017, Shirley gushed over the pair rekindling for a bite. She said: "Lunch with my first husband, Sammy Stopford. Still love him to bits."

Husband number two

Corky and Shirley met at a dance competition in Canada and were instantly smitten. The pair walked down the aisle in 1985 and welcomed their son Mark together - who is now 38.

In 2007, the Ballas' confirmed their marriage had come to an end, with Shirley later going on to detail Corky's infidelity in a tell-all memoir in 2020 - Behind The Sequins.

At the time, she penned: "He had multiple girlfriends even when I moved to America for him. I gave up my life for that man." In the same publication she accused Corky of body-shaming her during her pregnancy. Even claiming that he rigged her doughnut with a cockroach to stop her from eating.

She recalled: "My husband at the time thought I was too heavy for being three months pregnant so he put a roach underneath my doughnut. When I ate it, the cockroach crackled in my mouth with the legs dangling outside. This made me vomit straight away."

According the BBC judge, she'd also been warned about gaining weight, stating in her self-titled book that Corky would frequently belittle her looks, making cutting remarks such as: "Get too big and I'm out the door. I don't do fat, Shirley."

She further disclosed: "He'd say, 'You're too fat. What's that mole on your chin? Your nose is crooked, you need a nose job. Your breasts are too small'."

Rival punch up

Shirley previously confessed to punching a woman who brazenly told her she'd had an having an affair with her husband Corky. "The woman in question sidled up to me, clearly the worse for a drink or two, and said: 'You and I need to talk'," explained the professional dancer in her memoir.

"I tried to duck it, saying I had nothing to say to her, but she refused to leave," Shirley remembered. "Then, as if in slow motion, I turned to face her just as she blurted out, 'You need to get used to the fact that I f****d your husband'."

Shirley recounted a tense confrontation, saying: "There was a little white angel on one of my shoulders, and a little red angel on the other one. The white angel told me, 'Keep walking,' while the red angel said, 'Sock her in the gob.' So that's what I did. I punched her and she rolled away. I'm not proud. All I could hear around me were people whispering, 'Is that Shirley Ballas?'"

The Strictly judge wasn't the only one in the marriage to raise infidelities, with Corky claiming his wife had been unfaithful with "at least ten different men" during their lengthy marriage - accusations Shirley has never addressed.

Danny Taylor romance breakdown

Shirley's romance with West End star Danny Taylor quickly became the talk of the town with the pair going public with their affections in 2019 after meeting during pantomime season. Their 13-year age gap romance being at the centre of conversation.

They were totally mad for each other, with Shirley even declaring early on in their relationship: "I would marry him tomorrow, if he asked me. If this is what love is, I have never experienced it before."

In 2021 their secret engagement came to light but the pair didn't ever make it to church after they called off the wedding and last month it was confirmed that they had in fact both gone their separate ways.

Speaking on Jamie Lang's podcast, she said: "Currently, I've just split with my boyfriend. My relationships have been a disaster all the way along the line.

"But what I am truly grateful for is that I still have my mother and that she lives with me, and I get these precious moments with her. Because my mother is the only thing that’s been a staple in my life. No friend, no marriage, no nothing."

Shirley admitted cheating with a woman

During an appearance on Mel Giedroyc's Unforgivable show, Shirley made a shock confession, admitting she'd once crossed a line with a past former flame. The TV star fessed up that she'd shared a moment of passion with "somebody else's girlfriend" at a birthday party years ago - although they'd both been in relationships at the time.

She disclosed: "I was part of something, and that was a 40th birthday party where this wonderful young lady had too much to drink and so had I. We had this great big snog. She was engaged, and I had a boyfriend, so you could say it was a really strong and loveable embrace with somebody else's girlfriend."

Strictly Come Dancing is on BBC1 and BBC iPlayer