STRICTLY'S Johannes Radebe admitted to "falling in love" with his engaged celeb partner after months of dancing together.
The South African dancer, 36, was part of the first-ever male same-sex pairing in 2021 when he danced with John Whaite.
The duo reached the final but were beaten by Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice.
After being matched during the competition, John and Johannes both spoke very highly of one another.
And, in an unearthed interview from January this year, Johannes confessed his "love" for the The Great British Bake Off star in a candid interview on the podcast Reign with Josh Smith.
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The professional dancer said at the time: "I have fallen in love with my art form again because of John. The opportunity to be so creative with what we had to come up with every week.
"I was trying to figure things out as I was going along. Not once did he make me feel otherwise. In my moments of doubt, John just stood by me and waited for me to figure it all out. And I can't tell you that patience, I'm in love with the man."
Johannes continued: "I know he's a married man – soon to be – but let me tell you something, people come into your life and you just don't know how you've been doing without them this entire time.
"And that has been John for me, a really, really lovely lad. I can't tell you, he's the nicest person you’re ever gonna meet in your whole entire life."
Johanne's resurfaced comments about his "love" for John come as the baker and TV star admitted he briefly split from his fiancé and partner of 15 years, Paul Atkins, after his time on Strictly came to an end.
Yesterday the presenter revealed how he "still loves" Johannes and how he nearly became a victim of the "Strictly curse".
Opening up about what actually went down during his time on the show, he told The Times: "I fell in love with him [Johannes].
"I can't speak for him - because I'm not allowed to, legally - but it felt like there was love there.
"We had such similar stories growing up - the homophobia, the bullying, coming out, coming to terms with our sexuality - as any queer kid would."
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He then stated: "I still love Johannes. Of course I do."
John was honest about his feelings towards Johannes to his partner Paul which resulted in them agreeing on some "time apart".
After the baker finished competing in the dance show, Paul moved back in with his parents and John said he "sat on the patio, drinking bottle after bottle of sauvignon blanc".
The couple have managed to put the past behind them, with John telling The Times: "I look at Paul and what he’s put up with over the years and how he’s nurtured me and stood by me, and who would throw that away? I couldn’t."
John said that he and Johannes still talk on the odd occasion but would cut all contact if it became "tricky" for Paul.
He added: "I love him to bits and I worship the ground he walks on, but I have to be mindful that there's more than my own desires to consider here and if it would be tricky for Paul for me to be in contact with Johannes, then it's a sacrifice that I have to make."
The "Strictly curse" is a phenomenon that hits celebs and their dance partners during their time on the show.
Due to the long hours spent with their dance partners, their off-screen romances sometimes suffer as a result.
Over the course of 20 series of the BBC favourite, 14 couples have split up thanks to their time on the show.
