Robin Windsor reportedly had a 'traumatising' New Year before embarking on a 'dream trip' to South Africa.
The former Strictly Come Dancing professional, who has died at the age of 44, was in search of 'distractions' as he travelled 8,000 miles from his home in London. Whilst holidaying in Cape Town, Robin reportedly made a tearful call to a friend just two weeks before his tragic death, where he revealed he wasn't ready to return.
Without specifying exactly what it was, the friend claimed the late dancer had mentioned something seemingly traumatic had happened over New Year 2024. Speaking to the Daily Mail, the friend of the late star recalled: "He kept saying that something had happened over New Year but he wouldn't say what it was. He sounded absolutely traumatised – whatever had happened must have been truly awful."
Robin Windsor worked on cruise ships to pay the bills after sad Strictly exit (Instagram/ @robinwindsor)The beloved dancer spent his final weeks performing on a cruise and shared several updates of his travels as he stopped off in beautiful places including Madagascar and Mozambique. Robin was seen smiling and posing in front of Table Mountain in Cape Town on January 27 and captioned his upload: "This place is the distraction of all distractions."
But weeks later, the star was reportedly found dead in a London hotel room just days after his return. No official details regarding his death have been announced yet.
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His sad passing has sparked an outpouring of tributes from fans, former dance partners and fellow Strictly professionals, including Kristina Rihanoff who praised his kindness and loyalty in a heartfelt post. She claimed Robin was "struggling more and more" in the lead-up to his death, citing "instability of work" and "excruciating back pain".
In recent social media posts, he hinted at his struggles. On January 4, he uploaded a post saying: "Big shout out and love to everyone who's reached out and checked in the last week... sorry I have not replied...
"It's been a bit of a trying time and things are looking up." He signed the message off with his name and a love heart emoji. Two weeks later on January 14, Robin penned the cryptic message: "Remember, when something goes wrong in the circus, they send in the clowns to distract the audience. Well, something has gone very wrong with this circus and the clowns are everywhere."
And in his final social media post, he shared a photo of himself with dark shadows. He penned: "Hiding in the shadows." Over the years, Robin bravely opened up about his past battles with depression - revealing he struggled with dark thoughts since being a teen.
Speaking to the mental health charity Sane, of which he was an ambassador, Robin said: "I didn't really understand when I was 19 years old that I was suffering from depression at that time. And as I said, I was fuelling my life with as much as possible without drugs.
"Dancing is really what makes me happy and, without it in my life, I felt lost. Thankfully, I was given an opportunity to get back into it and had an incredible job travelling the world." The dancer went on to explain that losing his role on the hit BBC show was "probably the worst thing that could have ever happened".
Robin was open about his mental health struggles (Men)
Robin's final photo on social media (Instagram)He added: "Not really understanding what was going on I found that I was sad. And, I know we all have our dark days, but my dark days turned into dark weeks and I wouldn’t get out of bed. I didn't really understand why I was feeling like that or how to get out of that state."
The adored star was forced to quit the hit dancing competition after four years in 2014 due to a back injury which rendered him unable to compete - and was never asked to return. Speaking of his agony at the time, he explained to The Mirror: "I have a slipped disc in my back and the nerve is exposed, causing agonising pains shooting down my leg. A week ago I was paralysed on the floor of my friend's house as the pain was so bad. I was there for three or four days.
"I couldn't risk going ahead. It was a heartbreaking decision but I had no choice. If the slipped disc had popped out while I was dancing, I could have ended up with permanent nerve damage and been in a wheelchair."
His departure hit him hard. Coupled with the end of his engagement to Davide Cini, and having to use his life savings to pay off a hefty £100,000 bill to HMRC, Robin said his mental health started to suffer. He was unable to get out of bed, struggled with his intense back pain, and felt an overwhelming sense of loss over the show, which he previously described as 'Disneyland'.
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And in an interview with the Mail, he revealed that the turbulent time plunged him into darkness. "I got to dance and show 13 million people every single week what it was that I love to do. So, once that was taken away from me, I went into quite a steady decline.
"I was sad. And, I know we all have our dark days, but my dark days turned into dark weeks and I wouldn't get out of bed. I didn't really understand why I was feeling like that or how to get out of that state".
Robin's death was announced by Burn The Floor on Facebook in the early hours of Tuesday, with the dance company telling fans: "The Burn the Floor family has lost one of its founding members, Robin 'Bobby' Windsor - who has tragically passed away. A BTF journeyman he danced with us for twenty years - including Broadway, The West End and all our crazy adventures around the world.
"His stunning image attached with Jessica Raffa defined our company, colourful, extreme and sensual. His talent, attitude, energy and personality helped create the Burn the Floor stage reputation. He leaves a void in our hearts that will never be filled, yet our wonderful memories will stay forever."
* If you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit their site to find your local branch
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