Strictly Come Dancing star Tasha Ghouri has broken her silence following her split from Andrew Le Page as she expressed her excitement about reuniting with dance partner Aljaz Škorjanec for the upcoming live tour.
Ghouri and Le Page, who met on Love Island in 2022, reportedly split earlier this month after cracks began to show during her time on Strictly.
Sources close to the couple claimed the separation happened in early January, with Ghouri reportedly joining celebrity dating app Raya shortly after.
“Tasha was madly in love with Andrew but the cracks started to show when she appeared on Strictly,” the source revealed to The Sun.
The insider explained that Ghouri’s dedication to the competition affected their relationship: “She gave her all in that competition.
“Her focus was purely on her dances with Aljaz and that drove a wedge between them as time went by. Now she’s going off on tour she’s going to be away from Andrew again.
The couple met on Love Island back in 2022
“They talked about ending their relationship at the start of January and she’s pretty much heading out on the Strictly tour as a single woman.”
Now, the Strictly star has spoken out for the first time about her excitement to be on the Strictly Live Tour, telling The Mirror she “cannot wait” to perform in front of thousands and said: “Just have fun and smile and connect with people.
“That’s what I really love doing and to get to dance with Aljaz again and all the other pros. It is really magical. The tour is great. We are all having such a laugh. We play ping pong. It’s so fun. It’sreally nice to be able to spend time and just enjoy it.”
In another interview, Ghouri alluded to her split further as she opened up to the Daily Mail about being supported by her family during the festive period without Le Page: “I’ll be honest, over Christmas I wanted to spend time with my family.
“I just enjoyed the eating and the food. I went and saw my dad in Spain and then my brother flew over from Australia, but for me, it was about family time,” she admitted.
Looking ahead to the future, Ghouri remained upbeat when talking to the publication despite her break-up: I’ve got an exciting year ahead, my memoir is coming out and that’s my next focus and, yeah, I’m really looking forward to what’s to come.
“I feel like it’s going to be an exciting journey.”
The dancer also shared that the cast has maintained close contact through a group chat between the series’ ending and the start of the tour.
Ghouri was in high spirits at the Utilita Arena Birmingham photocall in a sparkling gold mini-dress alongside her fellow performers.
The female pros and celebrities matched in gold dresses for the glamorous shoot, whilst their male counterparts wore unbuttoned blue waistcoats.
The tour kicks off in Birmingham this week, with judges Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse.
Speaking about performing in the UK’s largest venues, Ghouri admitted to feeling some pre-show nerves.
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The pair are back dancing together on the Strictly Live Tour
“Definitely going to be nervous at first. It is going to be a bit scary everyone sat here and the uproar of the audience cheering. But I think it is going to be so special.
“For me, it’s all I wanted to do was to be able to learn these amazing styles and just perform to people and connect to people at home.”
Ghouri made it to the final of Strictly 2024 alongside partner Skorjanec but ultimately lost out to Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell.