Gemma Atkinson has broken her silence following reports that she’s going thorugh a “rough patch” with Strictly Come Dancing beau Gorka Marquez due to his dance commitments keeping him away from home.
It has been reported reported that Gemma was left “frustrated” as Gorka couldn’t make it home during the final six weeks of the BBC One dancing competition despite being voted out in the third week and the busy Spanish-born dancer has now also joined Spain’s version of the show, Bailando con las Estrellas, which means he’ll be spending most of his time in abroad.
However, Gemma has publicly shown her support for Gorka on Instagram, captioning a video of one of his appearances: “We’re so proud of you.” The Mirror also report that Gorka’s hectic schedule has prevented the couple from visiting his parents in Bilbao with their son Thiago, born in July 2023. Daily Star has reached out to the couple’s representative for comment.
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An insider shared with the publication: “Gemma knows how important Gorka’s work is to him and goes above and beyond to be supportive but she found it challenging when he wasn’t able to travel back to Manchester to spend time with her and the kids, even when he’d been voted off last year’s series. She’d been hoping they would have more time after the show finished, as he usually opts out of the tour to focus on family.”
(Image: PA)
“But then he signed up for Bailando con las Estrellas, and the plan changed. Gemma knows he’s just wanting to support his family, but it’s disappointing for her. It’s a really rough patch for them. Gorka has also been frustrated because they haven’t had time to travel to Bilbao for Thiago to meet his elderly parents.”
(Image: INSTAGRAM)
The source continued: “Gemma has been effectively raising two kids by herself. She was focusing on the end of the series as the endpoint but the judging role was too good an opportunity to miss. As with any couple, the longer they’re apart, the more tension there is between them.” Gemma, a former Hollyoaks star, and Gorka fell in love after both were on Strictly in 2017. Although Gemma danced with Aljaz Skorjanec and came second, she and Gorka hit it off away from the dance floor.
(Image: Gemma Atkinson/Instagram)
They got engaged on Valentine’s Day in 2021 and have two children, Mia born in 2019 and Thiago born last year. This news comes as Gemma revealed that Gorka had only managed to see their newborn son ‘a few times’ right after birth due to his busy filming schedule. On Steph’s Packed Lunch, in response to being asked if she’d only seen Thiago ‘a few times,’ Gemma said: “Yeah, when he was born, Gorka had a week at home with him, and since then he’s had three weekends with him, and that’s it.”
* This article was crafted with the help of an AI tool, which speeds up Daily Star’s editorial research. An editor reviewed this content before it was published. You can report any errors to starletters@dailystar.co.uk
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
