Strictly Come Dancing’s Nadiya Bychkova and Kai Widdrington have split up after two years as a couple and just a month after they finished a tour together. The couple started dating in 2022 after meeting on the BBC flagship show.
In an interview last year Ukranian Nadiya, 33 and Southampton-born Kai, 27, spoke about falling in love on the show. “It wasn’t until we danced together that the magic happened,” Kai admitted.
“We just fitted together. Everything worked. That’s the only way I can describe it. Dancing with Kai felt like the easiest thing in the world,” Nadia gushed.
Kai agreed saying: “When I’d watch Fred [Astaire] and Ginger [Rogers] on the big screen, it seemed like they were made for each other. Well, that’s how it felt with me and Nadiya. It was an American Smooth and everything just clicked into place.”
Their romance has now run it’s course with the couple said to be “heartbroken” by their parting. No third party is involved.
“It’s heartbreaking. Kai and Nadiya seemed like the most perfect couple and have been so, so blissfully in love.
“But the pressures of touring – being in each other’s space 24/7, and the stress of performing a sell-out show eventually took its toll,” a friend told The Sun.
“After a tough few weeks, they sat down together and decided to call it quits. They remain incredibly close and are determined their split will not have any impact on the next series of Strictly – they remain consummate professionals, and nothing will change that,” they said.
Express.co.uk has contacted representatives for Nadiya Bychkova and Kai Widdrington for comment.
During the relationship Kai had also grown close to Mila, Nadiya’s six-year-old daughter with Slovenian footballer, Matija Skarabot – a relationship that had unravelled before she met and subsequently fell in love with Kai.
“Mila is the most important thing in my life. But having her requires a lot of planning and organisation and, yes, some sacrifices, too,” Nadiya said in the joint interview last year.
Kai had fully embraced this fact saying: “It’s our life and of course that includes Mila.
“I have a great relationship with her. She calls me ‘Kai Lemon Pie’ and she’s very adept at getting me to buy her sweets and chocolate.”
