Gemma and Gorka's long distance relationship saved by super-ordinary date night

30 April 2024 , 09:41

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Gemma and Gorka make time for each other with a mundane ritual (Image: Instagram/glouiseatkinson)

Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez fell in love on Strictly, and six years later, they're still going strong.

The popular couple are now doting parents to Mia, four, and her baby brother Thiago, born last July. But with Gorka still a firm fixture on Strictly Come Dancing, and Gemma on the radio, they've had to juggle their busy work schedules to make time for each other.

Gorka, 33, is also a judge on the Spanish version of Strictly, and the family, who live in Greater Manchester, are looking to buy a "home from home" as they spend more time as a family in Madrid. While the pair admit they're away from each other a lot, they've grown accustomed to long-distance.

In an exclusive interview with The Mirror's Mark Jefferies, when asked how they are coping, Gemma responded: "I think we're doing alright. Everyone said twice the stress, twice the exhaustion, but it's also twice the love and the lovely chaos."

Gemma and Gorka dancing the jive (BBC/Guy Levy)

They're now a family of four, looking to split their time between Manchester and Madrid (UKTV)

The mum-of-two, who has returned to hosting a show on Hits Radio, revealed that when it comes to keeping their love alive, she and Gorka prefer to have a super-ordinary date night when they've not got the kids. She explained: "We're asked if we have date nights but we love being at home.

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"The childhood punishment of going to bed early becomes adult pleasures. A date night for us, if my sister or mum can have the kids, is to do a big shop together in peace because you can’t do that with kids."

The couple met on Strictly in 2017 when she was a contestant and they jived together on the 2019 Christmas special. Now looking for a second home together in Spain, Gemma, 39, said: "We want to get somewhere so that we always have a home from home. It would be nice to have somewhere that I can just take them with my family.

Gemma with Thiago and Mia (UKTV)

"It would help me with mine and their Spanish, and Gorka's parents could drive down. It's something we’re hoping to do by the end of this year. We love Spain." The pair are also doing a second series of their reality show Life Behind The Lens which features their lives in Manchester following Thiago’s birth. It also shows Gorka living between Manchester and Madrid every weekend and speaking Spanish again after years in the UK.

• The second series of Gemma and Gorka: Life Behind The Lens airs on W and UKTV Play from May 6 at 8pm.

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