Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas, 66, has said she will never marry again, telling Prima magazine: "At this time of life, I’ve got no desire to get married. I don’t want to answer to anybody."
Independence over commitment
Twice-married Shirley told Prima: "I want to be able to do my own thing. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not open to having a relationship with somebody, here and there along the way."
"But I don’t want to get married, not make that commitment… if I ever have another relationship again, it’ll be kept out of the press, because I find most people are very judgey."
Past relationships
Shirley was previously married to former ballroom star Sammy Stopford from 1980 to 1984, then wed dancer Corky Ballas in 1985; the pair split in 2007 after 22 years together. In 2024 she called off her wedding to Danny Taylor, who was 13 years younger than her, after six years together.
Latin dance champ Shirley, who was recently romantically linked to Italian dancer Giuseppe Nonnis, 36, has now vowed to keep future romances under wraps. She said: "I think it’s important if I have a relationship again, not to go public with it, because I found when I was with Danny, he was a bit younger than me and people judge you and don’t know you."
"So I think some things are meant to be private – I’ll never share that again."
Double duty with Dancing With The Stars
This week, Shirley is joining the US version of Strictly, Dancing With The Stars, like the late Len Goodman, her predecessor as head judge. She is guesting on the Halloween show, where the performers will include her pro dancer son Mark Ballas, 40, who is partnered with Love Island's Maura Higgins.
Shirley said: "I’ll do Strictly and then I’ll fly over to the US and judge that, then come back again. So it’s double duty this year."
"That was a job I’ve always wanted. It’s been on my wish list. I feel that Dancing With The Stars will be a slightly different audience. I think I can probably be more strict. It’s going to be very interesting. But I’m 100% not leaving Strictly!"
The full interview appears in the December issue of Prima, on sale Wednesday 28 October.
