PERFECT PAIR: 'WHEN WE DANCE TOGETHER SOMETHING MAGICAL HAPPENS'

STRICTLY’S KAI WIDDRINGTON AND NADIYA BYCHKOVA OPEN UP ABOUT FALLING IN LOVE, FAMILY DYNAMICS AND GOING ON TOUR

- NICOLA FAHEY

Strictly Come Dancing power couple Nadiya Bychkova and Kai Widdrington are the epitome of old-school glamour. And it’s traditional values that are laying the foundations for their new romance, which is already so solid that, next month, they’re set to launch their own nationwide tour, Once Upon A Time, inspired by their love story.

“Marriage is important to me,” says Nadiya on the couple’s first exclusive joint photoshoot. “One day I would like to be a wife, and extend my family.”

“It’s a future I want, too, absolutely,” confirms Kai. “I would love to be a dad and one day be a husband and have a family. Ultimately, we’re not trying to start a family right now, but we are trying to create that family feeling among us and that’s important.”

Ukrainian-born Nadiya, 33, found love with her Strictly co-star Kai, 27, from Southampton, during his first stint on the BBC show in 2021. Headlines about their fledgling relationship were so intense that the couple were forced to go out on dates in disguise.

Among the gossip were the now predictable rumours of romance with their dancing partners, news presenter Dan Walker and TV presenter AJ Odudu, all while Nadiya was privately dealing with the breakdown of her engagement to Slovenian footballer Matija Škarabot, 33, the father of her six-year-old daughter Mila.

“It wasn’t nice and we had some not nice headlines written about us,” says Kai, placing a protective arm around Nadiya. “We just stuck together and said, ‘I want to be with you and we’re going to make it work.’”