2 weeks ago
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Shirley Ballas has confessed her love life is a 'disaster', after last month splitting from her toyboy partner of six years Danny Taylor.
The twice-married, four-times engaged Strictly star has now said the loves of her life are her son, Mark, 38, and her 87-year-old mum, Audrey.
Speaking on the Great Company podcast with Jamie Laing, Shirley confirmed her split from her fiance, who she got engaged to in 2021 after they met while appearing in panto together in late 2018.
She said: 'Currently, I've just split with my boyfriend. My relationships have been a disaster, all the way along the line.
'What turns me off is a liar, somebody who says they'll be there and isn't.
'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.
Shirley Ballas has confessed her love life is a 'disaster', after last month splitting from her toyboy partner of six years Danny Taylor
Speaking on the Great Company podcast with Jamie Laing, Shirley confirmed her split from her fiance, who she got engaged to in 2021 after they met while appearing in panto together in late 2018
'Because my mother is the only thing that's been a staple in my life. No friend, no marriage, no nothing.
'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.'
Shirley was first engaged at the age of 16 to her then-ballroom partner Nigel Tiffany.
She went on to marry her dance partner Sammy Stopford when she was 18, but the union lasted four years before she ran away to America with Texan dancer Corky Ballas.
They tied the knot in 1985 and welcomed son Mark the following year. The pair split in 2007.
Reflecting on her previous relationships, Shirley said: 'I'm still friendly with Nigel, who was my first fiancé.
'And then I ran off with Sammy Stopford, and we went right to the top in the dancing, and then I went to America, and I married Corky, 22 years, then I left.
She said: 'Currently, I've just split with my boyfriend. My relationships have been a disaster, all the way along the line. What turns me off is a liar, somebody who says they'll be there and isn't'
Shirley and Danny – who had a 13 year age difference - met at pantomime rehearsals for Jack And The Beanstalk in 2018
'Then I've had a couple of boyfriends, and that all ended in disaster.
'Could I have made this marriage work? Should I have stayed here? Should I have done . . . shoulda, shoulda, shoulda, shoulda, shoulda?'
The BBC head judge continued: 'I was just talking to my ex-husband the other day — that was my first husband, by the way, just in case you get confused — I've had a few.
'And he made some sarcastic crack, which he does on a daily basis. He's got a beautiful son who's an opera singer, Samuel. And I said to him, 'If we had stayed together, you wouldn't have Samuel and I wouldn't have Mark'. So, you know, we both agree on that, even though there was a lot of pain with us splitting up.'
Shirley, who has been in therapy for 17 years, puts her failed relationships down to her dad George Rich walking out on her family when she was two-years-old.
It was only after the death of her brother David, from suicide in 2003, that she reconnected with dad George. He died at the age of 83 in April 2021.
She admitted she has 'trust' issues and due to having a lack of a family environment she learned to 'harden' up inside.
Shirley explained: 'I look back and I never had that example of that family environment.
'I'm not the most trusting person at all, and I think that all comes from childhood and the ups, the downs.
Shirley added: 'I've had a couple of boyfriends, and that all ended in disaster. Could I have made this marriage work? Should I have stayed here? Should I have done..?'
The Strictly head judge has been married twice, first to Sammy Stopford from 1980 to 1984, and then to Corky Ballas (pictured) from 1985 to 2007
'It was really fending for yourself from that age and my dad never did anything. Not even bought me a pair of dance shoes. I think it just makes you a little bit hardened on the inside.
'Nigel was probably the right person at the wrong time. He was four years older than me. He was kind, caring. And maybe, just maybe, because I'd never had that in my life from a man — that fatherly thing — he kind of filled that void, that need for me.
'And then, of course, when he and I split, and I went on to be with Sammy, he also had that same feeling.'
She continued: 'Sammy and I, and as much as people in the industry have always tried to stop that connection, I think we'll have it till the day we die.
'We've had our ups and downs. We've fought like cats and dogs over the years, but I can still call him, and I know in my heart that if my life fell apart tomorrow, he could be that person that I could call. He'd be there for me. That makes me emotional.
'And Nigel, my first fiancé, is my financial adviser.'
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