Shirley Ballas has described her love life as a "disaster" following her split from partner Danny Taylor.
The Strictly Come Dancing head judge, 64, previously announced she had no plans to marry Taylor, 51, after hinting at issues in their relationship last year.
The pair began dating in 2019 after meeting during a pantomime production. Taylor, a trained ballroom dancer, is also known for his acting roles in Brookside and The Bill.
The couple got engaged in 2021, but two years later, Ballas revealed they had called off their wedding plans, admitting she had "changed her mind" about marriage and no longer wanted to walk down the aisle.
Although they stayed together and attempted to maintain a long-distance relationship, the BBC star has now confirmed they have parted ways.
She shared: “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, who has been married twice and engaged four times, went on to share the loves of her life were her son Mark, 38, and her 87-year-old mum, Audrey.
Speaking to Jamie Laing on his Great Company podcast, she continued: “You know, all I keep saying at the end of the day is I’m blessed to have had my son, and without the journey I took, I wouldn’t have him, and then I wouldn’t have my grandson.
“So, it’s fate, if you want to, it’s directions that you choose.”
It was first reported the couple had split last month, with a source telling The Sun: “She gave her all to that relationship and in the end came to the realisation that it wasn’t going anywhere.”
The insider explained that while she “made a lot of effort travelling up and down the country” to support his partner’s theatre and panto work, “distance played a part” in their split.
Ballas was first engaged at 16 to her ballroom dancing partner, Nigel Tiffany. After their relationship ended, she married another dance partner, Sammy Stopford, two years later.
Following four years of marriage, Ballas left Stopford for American dancer Corky Ballas, whom she married in 1985. The couple welcomed their son, Mark Ballas, in 1986.
Their marriage ended in 2007 amid rumours of Corky’s infidelity then over a decade later, she began dating Taylor in 2019.
Ballas was previously married to former ballroom star Sammy Stopford from 1980 to 1984 before tying the knot with dancer Corky Ballas in 1985 with the couple splitting up in 2007 after 22 years together.
Reflecting on her parents’ relationship, Ballas believes their struggles had a lasting impact on her.
When she was just two, her father left the family. The TV star admitted she "never had that example of that family environment" and described herself as "not the most trusting person," which she attributes to the "ups and downs" of her childhood.
The TV judge revealed that her father "never did anything," which she believes made her "hardened on the inside."
Although they reconnected after her brother David's death in 2003, her father passed away at 83 in 2021. Ballas admits she is " still working on just letting go the time" he wasn’t present in her life.
