Strictly Come Dancing stars ‘split after 12 years together following curse’
They met when partnered on the show in 2013.
Strictly Come Dancing stars Kristina Rihanoff and Ben Cohen have reportedly split.
The professional dancer, 47, and ex-England rugby star, 46, met when he was taking part in the BBC One competition in 2013.
It was claimed that the show’s infamous curse struck, and Ben left his wife Abby for Kristina.
However, Ben has always denied he left his wife of 11 years to be with Kristina.
It’s now been claimed that Ben and Kristina have split, with sources saying financial difficulties tore them apart.
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A friend claimed: ‘Ben left his wife Abby for Kristina, only to now split with her.
The infamous Strictly curse struck Kristina Rihanoff and Ben Cohen in 2013 (Picture: Steve Thorne/Getty Images)‘It’s like the curse in reverse.
‘This will be like karma for Abby, she was so upset when Ben left her.
‘It’s like he has got his comeuppance.’
Ben denied he left his wife of 11 years Abby to be with Kristina (Picture: REX/Shutterstock)The source added to The Sun that the past six months have been ‘hell’ for the couple and ‘torn the love they had apart’, after the stars were forced to put their £1.75million Northampton house on the market.
‘Those close to them who know them as a couple had hoped they would be able to work things out but for now it’s over and it looks like there’s no going back,’ they claimed.
Ben – who shares two children with Abby – and Kristina welcomed their daughter in 2016, and announced their engagement in 2022.
Ben and Kristina got engaged in 2022 and share one child together (Picture: REX/Shutterstock)Last year, it was claimed Kristina and Ben were ‘fighting’ for their home and relationship amid money woes.
Kristina had been in court in September after being caught driving her Audi Q3 – worth around £30,000 – without any insurance, with Ben acting as her witness.
During a 20 minute account, he said: ‘I get up every day and I fight not to lose everything – to lose my cars and my house and my relationship.’
The pair are said to be facing financial woes which tore them apart (Picture: Steve Thorne/Getty Images)In an emotional statement, he continued: ‘We’re still living together… We’re in it financially.
‘We’re in business together so the problem is that we opened the business before Covid and we got the worst severities of it and in all honestly this is just another problem for me to deal with.’
He admitted to having credit cards overdrawn, as well as ‘a business in debt because of Covid’.
Ben said he was fighting not to lose his relationship last year (Picture: Can Nguyen/REX/Shutterstock)Kristina was seen crying in court, and had to leave at one point with her hands over her mouth as she felt ill.
The Russian dancer left Strictly in 2016 after eight years and trained as a yoga teacher.
After quitting, Kristina called it a ‘bittersweet situation’, saying: ‘I feel relieved because I wasn’t happy towards the end.’
Metro has approached Ben and Kristina’s reps for comment.
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