Danny Cipriani joined the cast of Strictly Come Dancing’s 2023 Christmas Special days after it was revealed his marriage had collapsed.
The 36-year-old rugby star married to 42-year-old mental health advocate Victoria Rose O'Callaghan in 2021 after a year of being together - but their shock split was announced in November this year. The surprise marriage collapse came just two months after Danny released his autobiography, Who Am I?, which included eyebrow raising confessions about his past sexual encounters - including tales of wild threesomes and engaging in sexual relations with women he met in cafes.
Danny had been tipped to take part in the 2023 season of ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and fans were disappointed when he wasn’t included in the line-up. But soon after, news broke his marriage to Victoria was over.
Fans were then surprised to learn he had been entered into the 2023 Christmas Special of Strictly - and paired with 29-year-old dance professional Jowita Przystał who would help him try to win the festive Glitterball Trophy. The past few months of personal life drama has placed Danny back in the public spotlight for all manner of reasons.
Danny Cipriani and Victoria Rose O'Callaghan's shock split was announced in November (Instagram)Divorce announcement
Danny released his autobiography in September - which included lurid details about his sex life. The confessions reportedly led to awkward arguments between the sport star and his wife Victoria.
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In November, two months after the book was released, Danny made the shock announcement his marriage was over after just two years. Writing on Instagram Stories, Danny revealed: “Victoria and I sat together this weekend and agreed to separate after 4 years of marriage.
“Whilst we’ve had some wonderful times together, we’ve also recognised we’re on different journeys and whilst this is sad news, it’s also a new chapter for us both to pursue our own happiness. I only wish the best for Victoria and her children.”
Danny was revealed as a Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special contestant in November (BBC/Guy Levy)
He is paired with dance professional Jowita Przystal (Instagram)Strictly casting
Reality show fans were expecting to see Danny featured in the line up of I’m A Celeb for the 2023 season - so were surprised when he was announced as a contestant on Strictly for the Christmas Special instead. His inclusion was unveiled at the end of November - along with the news he had been paired with dance professional Jowita.
Following his casting news, Danny shared footage of himself training with Jowita via Instagram, and wrote: “I love dancing!! But learning steps is a whole other game!! Luckily @jowitaprzystal is a brilliant, patient, teacher, cheers coach!! Having a great time with everyone involved, I can completely see why everyone who goes on strictly loves it. Staff, dancers and other newbies are all wonderful!! Buzzing for training this week.”
As the two trained together, photos soon emerged of them looking very close together - sparking speculation that a friendship could be blossoming between the pair that could be considered more than just professional.
Danny slammed rumours he cheated on his wife and denied dating Jowita (Instagram)Affair denial
Following his shock split from Victoria, and after photos of Danny and Jowita laughing and smiling together circulated online, Rugby star Danny took to social media to try to silence growing speculation that he had cheated on his wife and was in the early days of dating Jowita. Taking to X/Twitter days before the Christmas Special was due to air, Danny wrote: "I’m writing this in the hope it will stop some of the absolute nonsense that’s being written by a handful of reporters, which alarmingly seems to be gathering momentum.
"For the avoidance of any doubt, and just to be very clear for the reporters who have been and continue to be a little acrobatic with the truth about me, I separated from my wife because it was quite simply the best route for both of us. I didn’t cheat, no-one 'saw any texts' and I’m not dating Jowita from Strictly Come Dancing (who is a brilliantly talented woman that deserves to be left alone and respected for what an outstanding professional dancer she is)."
There had been reports previously that Danny and Victoria had rowed over alleged ‘texts’ that Victoria had discovered on his phone. Victoria, meanwhile, has been sharing her thoughts about the collapse of their marriage.
Victoria has been sharing uplifting social media posts in the wake of her marriage collapse (Instagram)Victoria’s confession
Following her break up, Victoria has been posting uplifting content via social media as she begins to rebuild her life before divorce proceedings are concluded. The mum-of-two - who has a son and a daughter from two previous relationships - has also been fielding questions from fans.
One asked her how best to cope with a break-up, and Victoria gave a painful insight into her own marriage split. The mental health campaigner wrote: "This must be the most asked question I've got at the moment. I knew it was coming. I'm ready for it. “Acceptance, let it go with love. Embrace the pain, suffer it, let it wash over you, and feel it deeply; it's a necessary part of the process. Meditate, sit, with your emotions, allowing them to rise and fall, and observe their transformation and eventual release. I meditate in an acupressure mat - I highly recommend that. Listen to your thoughts, but don't let them define your reality; you can create your next moment."
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She has also written about how she is rebalancing her life now she is single again, recently sharing with fans that she took herself on a date which she enjoyed as she met new people and allowed herself to be free from her marriage collapse woes.
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