Strictly curse strikes again as Nadiya Bychkova’s partner Tom Dean SPLITS from girlfriend
STRICTLY star Tom Dean has secretly split from his girlfriend Charlotte Phillips as the infamous show curse strikes again.
Olympian Tom, 24, called time on his romance weeks after he was axed from the BBC competition.
They had been dating for a year but the relationship “naturally run its course”.
The swimmer became the first celebrity to be booted off with professional partner Nadiya Bychkova, 35.
They were brutally cut from the competition in week one when they faced Toyah Willcox and Neil Jones, who left the show a week later.
A source told MailOnline Tom’s split had nothing to do with his time on Stricty Come Dancing.
They claimed: “Like in so many breakups, Tom and Lottie’s year-long relationship had naturally run its course and it has nothing to do with Strictly.
“It just happened to be in the first two weeks that they decided to part ways. They are still good friends and it’s all amicable between them.”
It comes after Nadiya and her Strictly boyfriend Kai Widdrington split before the current series.
The Sun previously revealed backstage tension engulfing the show as Kai, 29, and Nadiya “refused to stand next to each other.”
They are not the only couple to have fallen victim to the Strictly Come Dancing curse.
During the very first series, Brendan Cole left his fellow Strictly professional fiancé, Camilla Dallerup in the spring of 2004.
He was said to have fallen for his celebrity partner and inaugural winner Natasha Kaplinsky, although the pair did not confirm they were romantically involved.
Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace were together off the screen until 2007.
She waltzed off with her Strictly partner, Matt Di Angelo, who was just 20-years-old at the time.
Strictly Curse - The Lowdown
STRICTLY Come Dancing's latest series has already been hit by rumours of a BBC show 'curse' - yet what is it?
A host of Strictly Come Dancing stars have been struck by the Strictly Curse during the past two decades.
This is where celebrities who may or may not be attached in the outside world become more than friends with their professional partners.
A total of 20 relationships are said to have been impacted so far over the show’s 20 years.
It has seen relationships crumble with dance floor romances and punishing rehearsal schedules to blame.
This includes the partnerships of Louise and Jamie Redknapp as well as Kevin Clifton and Karen Hauer.
Controversially, Judge Craig Revel Horwood once said of the curse: “I think of it as a blessing, to be honest. One person is married, the other one had a girlfriend but my point in this entire thing is: if you come on Strictly, sometimes you are in a relationship that is not working anyway.
“There has to be something wrong in your relationship before it all goes awry.”
Series one winner Brendan Cole left his fiancé, fellow Strictly professional Camilla Dallerup, during filming for the very first series in spring 2004.
Brendan was said to have fallen for his celebrity partner and inaugural winner Natasha Kaplinsky, although the duo didn’t confirm they were romantically involved.