Strictly Come Dancing favourite Nadiya Bychokova and her partner Tom Dean were the first couple to be eliminated from the 2024 series - and fans have reacted furiously to the news.
Minutes after her exit was shown on TV, Nadiya, 35, fumed she was 'not ready to talk' about getting the boot with Olympian, Tom Dean, 24. Taking to Instagram after Toyah Wilcox was saved by the judges, the pro dancer posted: "I really appreciate all the messages, but I'm not ready to talk about what happened tonight just yet."
After having a slight change of heart, Nadiya then elaborated further and said she was 'devastated' by what happened. "Tom had so much to give and I had so much I wanted to teach him. His improvement in the last 2 weeks has been incredible and I think, actually I know, he could have become a brilliant dancer. I’m devastated that you won’t get to see that," she told her 194,000 followers.
Following her cryptic post, many of the Strictly family reached out to send the Ukrainian their well wishes and express their complete shock at the judges' decision with stars including Dianne Buswell, Jowita Przystral, Helen Skelton and this year's celebrity contestant, JB Gill posting in the comment section.
READ MORE: Strictly Come Dancing's Nadiya Bychkova issues cryptic statement after shock exit from BBC show
However, Kai, 29, who split up with Nadiya earlier this year, stayed silent, despite many of his pals and colleagues publicly supporting the mum-of-one. In July, just days before the first rehearsal for Strictly 2024, the former couple announced they had gone their separate ways after wrapping up their tour in June. It was reported at the time the split was amicable, but claims later emerged that the couple are "no longer on friendly terms".
Speaking about the breakup, a friend close to the couple revealed: "It's heartbreaking. Kai and Nadiya seemed like the most perfect couple and have been so, so blissfully in love. But the pressures of touring – being in each other's space 24/7, and the stress of performing a sell-out show eventually took its toll."
"After a tough few weeks, they sat down together and decided to call it quits. They remain incredibly close and are determined their split will not have any impact on the next series of Strictly – they remain consummate professionals, and nothing will change that," the source told The Sun.
Nadiya was previously engaged to Slovenian footballer Matija Škarabot, 36, whom she shares her seven-year-old daughter Mila with. The dancer split from the footballer in 2021 and the following year she began dating her Strictly co-star Kai, but the pair kept their romance secret from fans for months.
Kai is without a celebrity partner on Strictly this year, however, there were high hopes for Nadiya with Olympian, Tom. Insisting she had so much more to show viewers, the mum-of-one took to Instagram, saying: "Tom had so much to give and I had so much I wanted to teach him. His improvement in the last 2 weeks has been incredible and I think, actually I know, he could have become a brilliant dancer.
"I’m devastated that you won’t get to see that.My 3-time Olympic Champion was an amazing student and is a wonderful gentleman. He will go on to bigger and better things and I know this year he could have had a brilliant Strictly story."
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