Copyright hellomagazine
Karen Hauer has been a part of Strictly Come Dancing since 2012, and during her time on the show, she has enjoyed considerable highs, as well as lows. This year, the star will no doubt be aiming to make the finals of the series with Gladiators star Harry Aikines-Aryeetey as the pair attempt to cha-cha, samba and waltz their way to the Glitterball. But what do you know about the professional dancer's life away from the dancefloor? HELLO! brings you into the star's life away from Elstree. Read on for all you need to know… Karen's career before Strictly Karen, 43, has always been interested in dance, and she took up her passion at the age of eight after moving to New York City with her family; she was originally born in Venezuela. The star excelled at dancing and studied at both the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, and the High School of Performing Arts. She initially majored in ballet and contemporary dance, before moving onto ballroom and Latin. Her talents took her far and in 2008 she was named the World Mambo Champion, before being awarded the Professional American Rhythm Rising Star Champion the following year. Strictly wasn't Karen's first foray into the world of television, as back in 2009 she appeared on So You Think You Can Dance?. She originally auditioned with her then-husband, Matthew Hauer, but moved on to the Top 20 following his elimination. The star was eliminated in Week 5 of the competition after performing a tango and hip-hop routine. Marriage to Matthew Hauer Karen is believed to have met her first husband, Matthew, while they were both studying at the High School of Performing Arts. Although details about their early time together are scant, by the time they appeared on So You Think You Can Dance?, the pair had been married for nearly a decade. Despite both of them achieving various degrees of success on the Fox show, they decided to part ways the same year they appeared on the series. Marriage to Kevin Clifton During an appearance on Burn the Floor, Karen met her next husband, British dancer Kevin Clifton. In 2012, Karen joined the cast of Strictly Come Dancing, with Kevin cast on the show the following year. During a performance of the Burn the Floor tour in 2015, Kevin proposed to Karen, and the pair wed ithe same year. However, their marriage didn't survive, and in 2018, they called it quits on their relationship. Speaking on the We Need To Talk podcast earlier this year, Karen confessed: "This one hurt because we belonged together. You wouldn't say each other's names without following the other person's name. I felt that he distanced himself from me, but I was probably doing the same." She added: "I knew that I would've worked on it - I would've stayed. But at the same time, I couldn't be with someone who wasn't sure of whether they wanted to be with me or not. I couldn't wait." Marriage to Jordan Wyn-Jones After a two-year relationship with opera singer David Webb, Karen met personal trainer Jordan Wyn-Jones online. The couple married in 2022, however, 16 months later they divorced. Getting tearful on the podcast, Karen spoke about how she felt their relationship was becoming toxic. "I was just in panic mode, panic mode, love should not be panic," she emotionally said. "It's almost like he made up things to scare me so that I wouldn't go anywhere. But it's OK and I get on with it, I get on with it and smile because I don't want to cause trouble, I don't want to shake things up because that puts you in a bad mood which then makes my day really awful, and that's the state I lived in," she alleged. "I was not only lying to my family and friends and they were seeing it, but I was lying to him as well, because that was the only way I could get through the day, that would keep the peace." HELLO! covered Karen and Jordan's marriage in 2022, but behind the scenes, things were far from happy, and Karen later revealed that her brother called on her to cancel the wedding on the day she was due to get married. "Everyone was trying to stop this from happening and I wish they would have just taken me, grabbed me and put me in a car, and I would have kicked and screamed, but I wouldn't have gone through more hell," she revealed. Karen has called the behaviour abusive, telling host Paul C. Brunson: "He didn't hurt me physically so you couldn't see it. It was there, digging, digging, digging. Every dig every text, every call, why did I let someone do that to me?" Speaking to the Mail on Sunday about the end of their relationship in 2023, Jordan said: "It's a bit of a love story, a sad story. Karen's dedicated to her career, which she has worked really hard for. She's amazing and I admire her for it. That's one of the reasons I wanted to marry her – because of how powerful she is. But we wanted different things. There was a plan about having children but then there wasn’t a plan." Relationship with Simon Davidson Karen has found love again, with the professional dancer now dating rugby star Simon Davidson. The couple went public with their romance in 2024 and have shared several photos with fans over the course of their relationship. Simon confirmed their coupling, when he posted a photo of the duo cuddling alongside the caption: "Things can change in an instant [heart emoji]. Try to live in the moment you never know what may happen #love #2024 #live #38."
