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Louise Redknapp’s split from Jamie: Was Strictly to blame?

Regrets, she has a few…

Louise Redknapp split from her footballer husband Jamie just weeks after finishing as runner up in the 2016 season of Strictly Come Dancing.

She has spoken about the end of her 18-year marriage since.

But what happened during her time on Strictly, and was their split anything to do with the show’s so-called curse?

Read on and we’ll tell you.

Louise Redknapp shared her dog with ex-husband Jamie
Louise Redknapp split from husband Jamie after taking part in Strictly (Credit: Splash News)

What happened when Louise Redknapp was on Strictly?

Louise went all the way to the 2016 final with pro partner Kevin Clifton.

He was married to fellow dancer Karen Hauer at the time, and Louise was, of course, with Jamie.

However, weeks after she finished as runner up to Ore Oduba, Louise called time on her marriage and the pair divorced in 2017.

Read more: Louise Redknapp ‘shocked’ over ex-husband Jamie’s wedding

There were rumours at the time that Louise’s friendship with Kevin had played a part in the break up.

Especially as his marriage to Karen came to an end around the same time.

Both Kevin and Louise denied there was any hint of romance.

And, by 2019, they had unfollowed each other on social media and she later confirmed that they no longer speak.

louise redknapp strictly
Louise is no longer in touch with Kevin Clifton (Credit: BBC)

What has Louise said about her marriage split?

Louise detailed her feelings around the end of her marriage in her autobiography, You’ve Got This: And Other Things I Wish I Had Known.

And she seemed to hint that the show was indeed a catalyst for the marriage split.

Read more: Harry Redknapp shares sweet photo of son Jamie’s wedding

She wrote: “If I’d done the show four years earlier, this wouldn’t have happened. I wouldn’t have walked away from my marriage.”

Louise – who has two teenage sons with Jamie – explained she’d have been “too scared” to leave Jamie if she hadn’t taken part in the show.

She continued that the show set her on a “new path” and proved to her that she “could find work again”.

However, she did admit: “I still wish I’d done things differently because I feel like I hurt a lot of people and I’ll always be sorry for that.

“I felt like certain people had my back and, in hindsight, this wasn’t really the case. I was so scared about going back to normal life and losing what I’d achieved on the show.”

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So does Louise regret taking part in Strictly?

Well yes, it appears so.

She said if she had her time again she would turn the BBC dance show down.

Louise said it “wasn’t worth putting anyone I loved or love through the heartache”.

She explained: “Would I have done that show again if I had the chance? No. It all felt like a circus.

“As much as I appreciated everything that came out of the opportunity, the bad probably out-weighs the good.

“But, of course, it is easy to see that with the benefit on hindsight.”

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor