Karen Hauer admitted she would have fought to save her marriage with former Strictly Come Dancing star Kevin Clifton if she believed he still “wanted to be with her”. The professional dancer, 43, tied the knot with the Grimsby-born performer in 2015 – three years after joining Strictly’s team of professionals. They would announce their divorce in 2018, and Karen admits the separation played out behind the scenes for months before she finally confirmed they were no longer together.

The BBC performer revealed that she instigated the former couple’s separation after making a heartbreaking discovery. Karen shared she noticed Kevin had “distanced himself” from the marriage.

She spoke to Celebs Go Dating relationships expert Paul C Brunson about their 2018 divorce on his podcast We Need To Talk.

Karen said: “It hurt because we belonged together. I felt he distanced himself from me, but I was probably doing the same, because I felt that if you don’t want me then OK, I’ll retreat, I’ll give you your space.

“I knew that I would’ve worked on it, I would’ve stayed. But at the same time, I couldn’t be with someone who wasn’t sure of whether they wanted to be with me or not.

“I couldn’t just wait. He wanted a divorce, I didn’t fight it. It was tough for him, tough for me.”

Despite their separation, Karen insisted she and Kevin maintained a mutual admiration for one another as trained professionals on Strictly Come Dancing.

She said: “The respect we had for each other in the workplace. We respected one another, you know.

“We never said a bad word about one another. I think that’s because we hold each other to such a high regard, you know.”

Kevin went on to find love with Stacey Dooley who was his dance partner on the 2018 series, which they eventually won.