Strictly's Shirley Ballas' relationship 'disasters' and the reason she punched another woman
Strictly Come Dancing's head judge Shirley Ballas is one of the famous faces taking part in the Netflix series, Celebrity Bear Hunt, hosted by Bear Grylls and Holly Willoughby. The professional dancer will join model Lottie Moss, rugby Danny Cipriani, singer Una Healy and Scary Spice Mel B.
Many fans will know Shirley Ballas, who is originally from Merseyside, has been the head judge of the BBC one dancing competition, Strictly Come Dancing, since 2017. The star has also appeared on the US Dancing with the Stars and ITV's The Masked Singer UK, in which she participated in the fifth series as the character of Rat, but was eliminated and unmasked in the third episode.
Away from the screen, Shirley was a professional dancer who specialised in the international Latin division and won several championship titles. She has also experienced a colourful love life.
READ MORE: BBC The Traitors star tipped for Strictly after confirming relationship status
In November of last year, it was confirmed that the 64-year-old dance icon had broken up with her boyfriend Danny Taylor after six years together. In the past, she has been married twice and has been open about the emotional challenges she has faced in previous relationships.
Her first marriage was to her dance partner Sammy Stopford when she was just 18 years old. They married in 1980 and quickly rose to fame in the dance world, winning prestigious titles like Professional Latin at Blackpool in 1983.
Despite their success as a duo, they divorced after four years but are reportedly still friends today. In 2017, Shirley Ballas fondly reminisced about meeting up with her first husband, Sammy Stopford. She exclaimed: "Lunch with my first husband, Sammy Stopford. Still love him to bits."
She then married Corky, who she met while participating in a dance competition in Canada. The pair walked down the aisle in 1985 and welcomed their son, Mark. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter.
Their marriage came to an end in 2007, with Shirley going on to detail Corky's infidelity in a tell-all memoir in 2020, Behind the Sequins. She wrote: "He had multiple girlfriends even when I moved to America for him. I gave up my life for that man."
Shirley also previously admitted punching a woman who brazenly told her she'd been having an affair with her husband. In her memoir, she wrote: "The woman in question sidled up to me, clearly the worse for a drink or two, and said: 'You and I need to talk'".
She continued: "I tried to duck it, saying I had nothing to say to her, but she refused to leave. Then, as if in slow motion, I turned to face her just as she blurted out, 'You need to get used to the fact I f****d your husband'."
Infidelity accusations weren't one-sided in their marriage, as Corky claimed his wife had been unfaithful with "at least ten different men" during their long marriage - allegations Shirley has never responded to. Shirley recalled the tense confrontation and said: "There was a little white angle 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?'."
After some time apart, Shirley surprised her followers by reuniting with her former flame Corky Ballas. She celebrated their reunion on Instagram with a happy selfie, teasing future collaborations in the caption: "Meeting up with Corky Ballas, father to our wonderful son and Grandad to Banksi. Back working together, simply awesome."
Shirley and Danny Taylor, who have a 13-year age gap, went public with their relationship in 2019 after meeting during pantomime season. Shirley said she was utterly besotted, once confessing early in their romance: "I would marry him tomorrow, if he asked me. If this is what love is, I have never experienced it before."
They became secretly engaged in 2021 but never walked down the aisle, and in November 2024, news emerged that they had split. On Jamie Laing's podcast, Great Company with Jamie Laing, she reflected: "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."
Speaking ahead of the Celebrity Bear Hunt, which is set in Costa Rica, Shirley Ballas revealed what her biggest phobia was. In an interview with RTE News, she said: "My phobia is untidy spaces.
"I have to have my bottle of Domestos with me so that I can keep everything totally sterilised and, you know, leave every area that I've been in super immaculate for the next person going in.
"That's my own personal fear about how people are going to perceive me because I'm a little OCD I suppose. And I don't particularly care for spiders. That said, I would hate it if I have to tread on one because they're God's creatures".
You can watch Celebrity Bear Hunt's series on Netflix, which will be aired on Wednesday, February 5.
