Strictly pro dancer Nikita Kuzmin joined the cast of the BBC dance show in 2021 and wowed audiences and judges with his skills on the dance floor.
Outside of his Strictly life, Nikita leads a seemingly carefree life, taking off on lavish holidays and spending time with his family making “precious moments”.
Nikita isn’t afraid to share the intricacies of his life with his fans via his Instagram account, where he’s garnered a whopping 151,000 followers for his steamy topless pics and trendy red-carpet looks.
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But Nikita has only touched on his secret health battles a few times, having shared the details of his struggles with diabetes, Covid-19 and more.
Type 1 Diabetes
(Image: nikita__kuzmin/instagram)
Nikita has opened up about his daily life with Type 1 diabetes and says that dealing with it has become his new “superpower”.
Having been diagnosed at 13, he candidly told Morning Live viewers that he had a message for kids dealing with diabetes: “I mean, first of all, the message I would really love to send to all the kids and general people is that this is our superpower.”
The dancer was first seen wearing a white patch – a flash glucose monitor – when he made the bold decision to rip his shirt off during a dance with Gordon Ramsay’s daughter and Strictly contestant Tilly Ramsay.
Despite confidently opening up about the issue, Nikita revealed he initially feared his career would be over.
(Image: Getty Images)
“When I found out, I was 13 and I just came back to Ukraine and at that time, I’d been dancing already for nine years. I lived in three countries and everything because of that. So when I found out, I thought, ‘My career’s over'”, he told Morning Live host Gethin Jones.
Covid-19
In January 2021, Nikita was forced to pull out of his first ever Strictly Live on Tour stint after confirming he had tested positive for Coronavirus.
The professional shared the gutting news to his followers, posting a snap of him and his then-Strictly partner, Tilly Ramsay.
He wrote the caption: “So sad to be missing a portion of the Strictly Live Tour, but unfortunately I tested Positive for COVID-19.”
“Lots of luck to all the amazing Strictly Cast. Will be back as soon as I can :)” he added.
(Image: BBC)
Luckily the Strictly newbie only missed out on the first portion of early shows, as the tour had only just started a few days before his shocking announcement.
Fears for family safety
At the height of the Russian war on Ukraine back in March 2022, Nikita, who is from Ukraine along with his family members, admitted that he feared for family and their safety amid the chaos.
The dancer’s extended family, including his grandparents, aunts and uncles were trapped in the besieged country, forming an unprecedented dark cloud over Nikita’s Strictly success.
Nikita revealed that some of his relatives were too ill to flee their homeland but he managed to rescue his grandmother after she crossed the border to safety in Poland.
He told his Instagram followers at the time: “Picked up my grandma from Poland! She is so incredibly brave & strong, two nights without sleeping, walking 8km+ in the freezing cold, when on a normal day, she can barely walk!”
“She traveled from Kiev, my mom flew from Rome and I drove from Frankfurt and we all reunited in Krakow! Just so happy to be together” he continued.
Nikita sadly added: “Unfortunately still have my aunt, grandma and grandpa in Kiev.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
