In a Strictly Come Dancing love story, Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez, who met on the show in 2017, got engaged on Valentine’s Day.
Now, the sweethearts are beginning their wedding planning, settling on a location abroad for their special day, as Gemma, 36, revealed on Friday.
During an appearance on Steph’s Packed Lunch, the former Emmerdale actress discussed their plans to marry overseas, overcoming any potential language barriers.
While Gemma is originally from greater Manchester, professional dancer Gorka is from Spain, leading the pair to decide on a wedding location where they are both new to the native tongue.
Presenter Steph McGovern asked: “So we haven’t seen you since you got engaged, that’s exciting! How is it going, have you started planning?”
(Image: Channel 4)
Gemma explained they weren’t too fussed about planning just yet, but have settled on marrying abroad in 2022 with their respective families in tow.
“We’re obviously not going to do it this year given everything that is going on, the only thing we have agreed on so far is that we are going to do it abroad,” Gemma said.
“Gorka wants his family to be able to order drinks at the bar and understand the waiters. His family don’t speak English and my family don’t speak Spanish, so we’ve said that we’ll meet halfway.
(Image: Gorka Marquez/Instagram)
“That’s all we’ve agreed on. Not this year, but the year after – if I can tolerate him for that long obviously!”
The lovebirds announced their engagement in February, with Gemma flashing her ring in an Instagram post and writing: “Valentine’s forever… Of course, I said yes.”
Gorka similarly paid tribute to his wife-to-be, penning: “The best day with my forever Valentine’s. I asked and she said YES! Happy Valentine’s Day everyone.”
(Image: BBC)
While they were partnered with different dancers during the 2017 series of Strictly, Gemma and Gorka got to know one another backstage, striking up a connection.
They started dating a few months later, and eventually welcomed their first child in May of 2019, naming the baby girl Mia.
Describing their relationship as a “tag team,” Gemma previously opened up about their strengths as a couple after Gorka was forced to spend weeks away from his family while filming Strictly during the pandemic.
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“Since we got together, Gorka’s always been away or I’ve always been away,” Gemma told Mother and Baby last year.
“So I think that’s part of why our relationship works so well because we’re used to time apart.
“I’m very good on my own, Gorka is very good on his own but we’re even better together. So we’ve always kind of made it work as a tag team.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
