Entertainment
Strictly star details falling victim to curse and ‘not wanting to let go’ despite being in relationship-Meghna Amin-Entertainment – Metro
‘I felt a sense of loss.’
John Whaite has detailed falling for Johannes Radebe in a new extract from his memoir (Picture: BBC)
Strictly Come Dancing star John Whaite has revealed how strong his feelings for Johannes Radebe, so much so that he had to spend time apart from his long-term partner.
The Bake Off winner, 34, confessed to a cheating scandal ahead of the release of his memoir Dancing on Eggshells: Kitchen, ballroom & the messy inbetween.
In recent days, he’s been sharing details of some of the stories outlined in the book, including that he’d developed feelings for his Strictly partner Johannes, whom he came runner-up with on the dancing series in 2021, losing out to Giovanni Pernice and Rose Ayling-Ellis.
He also confessed to cheating on his long-term partner Paul Atkins soon after winning Bake Off back in 2012, saying he’d engaged in ‘drunken fondles and experiments’.
However, in a newly revealed extract from the memoir, John has admitted he had to spend time apart from Paul after his strong feelings for Johannes.
He wrote: ‘After that final dance, I hung up my clothes for the last time. I felt a sense of loss.
‘Not because the competition was over, I was knackered and ready for a break, but because I wouldn’t get to see Johannes every single day.
John and Johannes made it to the Strictly finals in 2021 (Picture: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images)
John has spoken about falling for the Strictly curse (Picture: James Veysey/Shutterstock)
‘I watched him as he sat on the window sill of the dressing room drinking a glass of champagne, still sparkling in his bright white show dance outfit.
‘I was jealous of the sweat beads as they shimmered on his beautiful skin. I wanted to be close to him… We hugged goodbye, I didn’t want to let go.’
John added, according to The Sun: ‘Johannes knew that [the curse] could happen. He had seen it a thousand times with his dance companions over the years.
‘When you are physically pressed against another man for ten hours a day, things move emotionally… He was being cautious. Strictly has a magical way of revealing the truth.’
He went on: ‘For a while, Paul and I had to have some time apart. I felt like I didn’t know what I wanted from my existence any more.
‘Paul had moved back with his parents and I thought to myself “What the hell are you doing?” I was making that childhood premonition of growing old alone come true.
‘Fourteen years in a solid relationship with a man who loves me unconditionally, a man who would move the earth to make me feel safe and I was p***ing all over it.’
This comes after John explained how his relationship with Paul had experienced some ups and downs, saying, in a recent interview with The Times, that he ‘tested boundaries’ of their relationship after Bake Off.
John recently shared a defiant message alongside a picture with his partner Paul (Picture: john_whaite)
After being catapulted into a world of ‘freebies, champagne hampers, meals out, and holidays as well as screen tests, red carpets, parties, and a six-figure book deal’, John spoke about cheating on his partner.
In the same interview, John revealed that nine years later his relationship was also tested after he ‘fell in love’ with Johannes, which lead to some ‘time apart’ from his partner.
However, the couple, who are now engaged, eventually reconciled, with John explaining how Paul had ‘nurtured and stood by me’.
After these stories emerged, John urged readers to wait until the book is out to get the full story, breaking his social media silence to write: ‘Context is everything.’
He later sent a defiant message on Instagram, alongside a picture of him and Paul admiring the great outdoors: ‘Thanks for all the lovely messages over the past few days. We’ve been so busy cleaning our cookery school (exciting times – see link in bio for more details!)
‘But also, I wanted to take this opportunity to remind you that Strictly Come Dancing is only a tiny portion of the contents of my forthcoming memoir.
‘It might give you a little reassurance that it’s ok to be a messy, flawed human,’ John wrote (Picture: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
‘The book mostly describes what it is to be a human, and how with the love and support of others, we can pull ourselves out of some very dark places.
‘It’s a story of hope and redemption, and not inane gossip.’
Just days later, John wrote on Instagram, as his book reached publication day: ‘PUBLICATION DAY. My memoir, Dancing on Eggshells: Kitchen, ballroom and the messy inbetween is out today.
‘There have been a lot of headlines recently about some of the contents of the book. Some of which have been a little out-of-context or inaccurate (I’m not admonishing the journalists – they’re just doing their job – we’ve all got bills to pay and mouths to feed), but the essence of those stories make up just a tiny portion of this book, because there is far more to my 12,511 days on this marbled bowling ball than spatulas, sparkles and spats.
‘This book talks about what it is to be human – the joy and the pain, the fizz and the dirt, and as @russelltdavies63 so beautifully said, the glitter and the grit.
‘My biggest hope, is that when you read it, there’ll be a little something that is relevant to your life, and that it might give you a little reassurance that it’s ok to be a messy, flawed human.
‘Thanks to those who have read it and sent the loveliest messages.’
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One later this year.
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