Strictly Come Dancing star Janette Manrara, who married fellow professional Aljaž Skorjanec in 2017, had relationships with two other Strictly dancers before settling down. The former It Takes Two presenter reportedly dated Artem Chigvintsev in 2010 and Pasha Kovalev before that.
Romantic history revealed
A source revealed her romantic past back in 2013, telling the Sunday People that she had no room to be jealous seeing Aljaž pair up with a new celebrity each season. The source said: “Janette is fairly laid back and knows it’s all part of the job. Even if she was a bit jealous she wouldn’t show it. She couldn’t really complain because she has dated two of the other Strictly dancers.
“She enjoyed a brief romance with Pasha. None of the relationships went very far or lasted for a long time. Now they are all good friends and can laugh and joke about it, which is fortunate because they will be working very close together.”
Marriage and family life
Janette and Aljaž first got engaged in 2015, marrying in a lavish London ceremony two years later in front of a whole host of celebrity guests. Their honeymoon came in two parts – one in Florida and one in Slovenia, to celebrate with their families at their respective hometowns. In July 2023, they welcomed their first child together – daughter Lyra Rose.
The source said back in 2013: “Janette is obviously a very attractive woman but she’s very into Aljaž now. They have been together for two years and do everything together.”
How they fell in love
The pair have discussed how they first fell in love, striking up a romance together while touring with dance show Burn the Floor. Aljaž said on Lorraine in 2022 that it was love at first sight for him, but “not for Janette”. Janette said: “We were friends for a whole year. We were friends for a long time before we actually went on our first date… but I will admit, he definitely tried.”
Joining Strictly in 2013 made things a lot easier for the pair, as they faced a long-distance relationship – Janette was living in Los Angeles and Aljaž in Slovenia. She said in 2021: “The thought of doing the whole long-distance thing made it hard for us. We were very scared about what was going to happen to our relationship.
“They called me first and asked me to join the show, I didn’t scream but my face said it all. Within five minutes they called him straight after.”
