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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Zara Woodcock

Strictly's Kristina Rihanoff and Ben Cohen engaged nine years after meeting on BBC show

Strictly Come Dancing's Kristina Rihanoff and her partner Ben Cohen are engaged.

The former BBC dancer had the 'biggest surprise of my life' when her now-fiancé got down on one knee during a break in the Maldives.

Kristina and Ben met when they were partnered up on the 11th series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2013.

They share a daughter named Mila together, who they welcomed in 2016.

Kristina also has a role as step-mum to Ben's twin daughters Harriet and Isabelle, who he shares with his ex-wife Abby.

The couple were enjoying the crystal clear waters and gorgeous beaches of the Maldives when the proposal happened.

Kristina and Ben took a boat to a neighbouring island before she noticed a lantern-lit heart along with the question "Will you marry me?" written in the sand.

She 'hadn't the slightest idea' Ben was planning to ask her to marry him.

"I was overcome with emotion and said ‘Yes, yes and yes’ straight away," she explained.

"My first reaction was wow. It was absolutely surreal and I couldn’t believe what was happening."

She added to Hello! Magazine : "I’m usually very perceptive but I didn’t have a clue Ben had been planning this. How he managed to keep it a secret was amazing."

Ben thought the South Asian country was the perfect place to do it.

Earlier this year, Kristina was asked whether she and Ben were planning on having more children.

Ben and Kristina were on Strictly Come Dancing together in 2013 (PA)
They share a daughter together (krihanoff/Instagram)

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Despite her apparent warmth for her blended brood she appears to have drawn a line under any more children.

Asked if her and Ben would have more kids she replied: "I already have a lot of children around me."

Speaking about motherhood, Kristina told Mail Online: "Your life rotates around them, and they make your life special, and there is nothing better than being a mum.

"Those things before which used to worry me, like how skinny I was before, does not bother me anymore.

"I want to be healthy, and I want to be around my daughter for as long as I can. There are much more important things in my life now."

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