Strictly's Karen Hauer says her and Kevin Clifton 'belonged together' after painful split

Professional dancer has opened up about her separation from . She has said that the former couple, who worked together on "belonged together" whilst recalling their relationship.

Karen, now 43, and Kevin, now 42, developed a romance whilst working together prior to joining the dance show in 2012 and 2013 respectively. They went on to get married in 2015 before their split was announced in 2018. Speaking about their relationship on the latest episode of the podcast, which was released today, Karen said it was "tough to navigate" their relationship whilst on Strictly.

She said that on tour they knew their "schedules were together" but each had their "own structure" on the TV show. She suggested on the podcast that they didn't have time for the relationship anymore.

Asked about the end of the relationship by host Paul C. Brunson, a teary-eyed Karen said: "This one hurt because we belonged together. [...] It was like you wouldn't say each other's names without following the other person's name."

Sharing her perspective, she said: "I felt that he distanced himself from me but I was probably doing the same because I felt if he didn't want me then, okay, I'll retreat. I'll give you your space. It was one of those that we're both not talking about it. So, I'm like, do you want a divorce? Do you want to split up?

"I don't know what I want to do. What do you want to do? Do you know what you want? I don't know what I want. Okay. So, do we ... are broken up or? So, it took a while actually. It took about a year behind the scenes. In front of the scenes, everything was normal."

Karen said that they "fell apart" and she didn't know whether Kevin wanted to be with her or not. She added: "I knew that I would have worked on it. I would have 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."

She continued: "I couldn't just wait. I waited for a while and I was giving him his space to think and then funny enough I met someone and you know we weren't together but we were together in the public eye."

Karen said that it wasn't someone that she "dated", saying: "It just happened to be someone that I just saw a couple of times and I got snapped up. [...] I was just walking with this person and then all of a sudden, you know, I'm portrayed as someone that ... that I have cheated on him and then obviously he saw the pictures and was like what? So there was a big misunderstanding in all of that because I wasn't actually ... I was literally waiting to be loved."

She said that Kevin "just wanted a divorce" and that she "didn't fight it". Karen shared: "In my mind it's almost like something had to happen in order for him to make a decision. Because I wasn't going to make the decision. I wasn't going to pull the plug. So then I tripped and then the grenade went off. You know, I pulled the pin."

The dancer said that it was "tough" for both Kevin and herself. She said that he "didn't want to let go" but had to "do the right thing for himself" in the circumstances. She also recalled feeling "shame" over getting divorced again, with her marriage to Kevin having been her second.

She however shared on the podcast that her and Kevin, who is now in a relationship with , have remained on good terms. Karen, who is currently dating former rugby player Simon Davidson, said: "We never said a bad word about one another, you know. I think that's because we hold each other to such a high regard, you know. There will always be love there."

Karen also spoke about other relationships on the podcast. She shared that she had "wanted something more" when she was married to her first husband Matthew Hauer, whom she was married to from 2000 until 2009.

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