STRICTLY Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas has abandoned all hope of finding love, saying: “Every relationship has ended up being a disaster.”
The head judge on the BBC show has had two failed marriages and also broke off her long-term engagement with toyboy lover Danny Taylor.
Shirley, who turned 65 earlier this month, announced her split from Danny, 52, in November 2024 and has now admitted she cannot hold on to the men in her life because she is “married” to dance.
She said: “I’m obsessed with what I am and with what I do.
“So it’s not just a job for me.
“I’m married to it.
“That’s probably why I don’t have a relationship.
“I don’t think I’m put on Planet Earth to have a relationship.
“Every relationship has ended up being a disaster.
“With my last boyfriend I thought I’d found The One and that also didn’t work.
“So I’m just going to focus on my family.”
Speaking on relationship guru Paul C Brunson’s We Need To Talk podcast, Shirley opened up about her “rocky life”.
The judge divorced ballroom pro Sammy Stopford in 1984 after four years together.
She went on to marry Corky Ballas in 1985 and was with the dancer until 2007.
Shirley split from theatre performer Danny after six years.
She has also recently endured the torture of having a stalker.
Kyle Shaw, 37, believed the judge was his aunt.
He received a suspended jail sentence and restraining order in April this year.
It was revealed at the weekend that her deciding vote — when a Strictly dance-off result is deadlocked — will now be shared among the other judges after years of her decisions leading to online abuse.
She now wants to withdraw from the spotlight for a quieter life, adding: “I’m going to start to be a bit more insular.
“At 65, I was going to have a big party but I decided I would have it with my driver George, my PA Harry, and my mum.
“We’d have just this quiet, no-noise lunch at Selfridges and a shop around M&S.”
