Strictly’s Neil Jones confirms new relationship a year after split from wife Katya following Seann Walsh kiss scandal
STRICTLY Come Dancing star Neil Jones has confirmed he's in a new relationship a year after his split from his wife Katya.
The 38-year-old professional dancer let the news slip during an Instagram Q&A when a cheeky fan asked him if he was still single.
Coy Neil simply answered "nope" to the fan's question and later added that he's feeling the "best he had in years".
He is in his first new relationship since 2018 when his wife Katya, 31, was pictured snogging dance partner Seann Walsh, 34.
Neil and Katya announced their split last August, 10 months after the kissing scandal.
The had been married for six years since 2013.
Announcing their split in a joint statement on Instagram, the couple wrote: "We will always love each other, just in a different way as friends.
"This will never change what a great team we make and we are really proud of everything we have achieved together.
"We wish one another every happiness and we will remain the best of friends. We are really looking forward to getting back to the ballroom and can't wait to keep on dancing. Lots of love from us both xx."
In June this year Neil exclusively told The Sun: “We tried to make it work but we couldn’t.”
On the snaps that shocked the showbiz world, Neil said: “We’re human, we all see things in completely different ways. We don’t all react the same way.
“That’s the thing with me. I’m in a good place and me and Katya get on really well now.
“For me it’s something that happened in the past. We spoke about everything back then. We had a situation but everyone was supportive, so we got through it.”
Neil denied he punched Seann in the aftermath of the fling and insisted he brushed off poor-taste jokes by the stand-up comic that he was gay.
The Sun on Sunday had revealed pictures of Seann and Katya passionately kissing earlier that week outside the Duke of York pub in central London.
Most read in Celebrity
They were the latest in a long line of dance duos to be struck by the “Strictly curse”.
The night before the story was published, the pair had performed a sexually charged paso doble live on Strictly, as both Neil — who was also on the show — and Seann’s girlfriend of five years, Rebecca Humphries, watched on from the wings, unaware of the kiss.
In grovelling apologies, Katya said: “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking. It was a one-off mistake after some drinks. I love my husband.”