Gemma Atkinson says her relationship with Gorka Marquez was a "Strictly blessing".
The 33-year-old actress met Gorka when she appeared on BBC latin and ballroom dance competition ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ last year, where Gorka works as a professional dancer.
And although there are reports of a "Strictly curse" every year – where happy couples split because of the closeness between the contestant and their partner – Gemma insists that wasn’t the case for her and Gorka, as not only were both of them single, but they weren’t paired together on the show.
Gemma – who danced with Aljaž Škorjanec on the show – told the Sunday People newspaper: "With Gorka, I had six months of getting to know him as a friend, that’s what is different.
"I’ve never fallen for a friend before. For us it was a Strictly blessing. We weren’t dancing together and we were both single.
"No one got hurt or trampled on, no one left anybody for anybody else so it was literally a Strictly blessing for me and Gorks."
Her comments come after she revealed earlier this week that 27-year-old Gorka – who was paired with Alexandra Burke on ‘Strictly’ last year – won her heart with pizza at 2am during their first night out together.
In a throwback post on Instagram, she wrote: "#tb to mine and @gorka_marquez first night out together! Who’d have thought a tipsy taxi ride after the Strictly launch party would lead us to where we are now. I’m so glad that on that evening you asked for my phone number, and Im thankful you got me that much needed 2am pizza, got me back to my hotel and handed me over to the girls safely and rang me in the morning checking Id made my train back to Manchester! (I hadn’t) but hey! It was fun, and it lead to our friendship which months later, lead to our partnership. The rest they say is history and I cannot wait to see what the future holds with you Gorks! (sic)"
Gemma Atkinson: My romance with Gorka Marquez is a ‘blessing’
