Shirley Ballas breaks silence after 'tough day' following split with fiance

Shirley Ballas has spoken out for the first time since news broke about her separation from partner Danny Taylor, describing the ordeal as a 'tough day'. The Strictly Come Dancing head judge, aged 64, was reportedly the one to call time on their relationship, which had been in the spotlight after she had openly talked about it.

After the split hit the headlines, Shirley turned to Instagram Stories with a post that read: "When you have had a tough day, and you see this smile @grundyalan, you can hopefully sleep. My friend for many years."

She shared an image of herself on a FaceTime call with her friend Alan Grundy, both sharing a momentary smile during what must be a challenging time. The breakup comes only half a year after Shirley disclosed to the public that they had cancelled their engagement plans, though at the time they were still together.

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Shirley met Dan back in 2018 during a run of the pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk, where the chemistry between them was unmistakable; Shirley fell more quickly for Dan, who besides his acting career in shows like Brookside and The Bill, is also trained in ballroom dancing. They got engaged in 2021 but unfortunately called it quits on their engagement later that year.

A source disclosed to The Sun the details behind their split, saying: "As with any break-up, it is, of course, a very sad situation. She gave her all to that relationship and in the end came to the realisation that it wasn't going anywhere. She made a lot of effort to see Danny and support his theatre and panto work, travelling up and down the country."

They also mentioned: "Distance also played its part - Shirley lives in London with her mother and Danny remains based in Liverpool; that commute is a killer. But Shirley is a strong, resilient character and is looking better than ever. She will 100% bounce back - 2025 promises to be an absolute corker for her."

Regarding the early stages of her set-up with Danny, Shirley had once shared: "We met on panto 'as friends' and it didn't really take off until March...for him."

She elaborated: "I think for me it was [at] first sight. He was going through a difficult time in his relationship. We did become friends and then probably in about February I said, 'I love you Danny' and he said, 'I know'. It took a while."