Shirley Ballas, the beloved head judge of Strictly Come Dancing, has candidly shared that her relationship with fiancé Danny Taylor has come to an end. The 64-year-old, who hails from Wallasey, revealed the news during an appearance on the Great Company podcast, where she opened up about the challenges she has faced in her personal life.

Shirley and Danny were together since 2019 when they met each other on a Christmas production of Jack and the Beanstalk. Despite this break-up, Shirley has made an appreciative statement regarding the unfailing support from her mother, Audrey Rich, and her son, Mark Ballas, in her present challenging time.

In the podcast interview, Shirley didn’t hesitate to brand her love life as tumultuous. On reflection about her past relationships, she said:

“Currently, I’ve just split with my boyfriend. My relationships have been a disaster, all the way along the line. But what I am truly grateful for is that I still have my mother, and that she lives with me, and I get these precious moments with her. Because my mother is the only thing that’s been a staple in my life. No friend, no marriage, no nothing.
Shirley’s love life has been pretty exciting. She first got engaged at 16 to her former dancing partner Nigel Tiffany. Then she was married at 18 to another ballroom partner Sammy Stopford, but that only lasted for four years. In 1985, she married Corky Ballas, and together they share their son Mark, whom she married in 2007 and is now divorced.

Indeed, looking back, Shirley admits to questioning some of the decisions she made in the past:

“I’m still friendly with Nigel, who was my first fiancé. And then I ran off with Sammy Stopford, and we went right to the top in the dancing, and then I went to America, and I married Corky, 22 years, then I left. Then I’ve had a couple of boyfriends, and that all ended in disaster. Could I have made this marriage work? Should I have stayed here? Should I have done. shoulda, shoulda, shoulda, shoulda, shoulda?” *
Shirley believes that perhaps this traumatic love life was a result of her early life. Her father had deserted when Shirley was just a toddler, and she was brought up by her mother alone. This lack of availability influenced her views on love and trust:

\”I look back and I never had that example of that family environment. I’m not the most trusting person at all, and I think that all comes from childhood and the ups, the downs. It was really fending for yourself from that age and my dad never did anything. Not even bought me a pair of dance shoes. I think it just makes you a little bit hardened on the inside.\”
Shirley also reflected on what could have been, especially with her first fiancé, Nigel Tiffany:

“Nigel was probably the right person at the wrong time. He was four years older than me. He was kind, caring. And maybe, just maybe, because I’d never had that in my life from a man – that fatherly thing – he kind of filled that void, that need for me.”
Despite all this, Shirley is still very down to earth and finds comfort in her family. She is happy spending time with her mother, Audrey, who lives with her in London. Shirley recently talked about the difficulties of caring for her mother, who has been diagnosed with COPD, which causes severe breathlessness.

Speaking to the Liverpool ECHO last month, Shirley described the impact of her mother’s illness on their lives. While managing her demanding schedule as a dance judge and public figure, Shirley prioritizes her mother’s well-being, even on the toughest days.

Shirley’s candid reflections highlight the ups and downs of her journey, but resilience is a quality that comes across in all of this. Heartbreak notwithstanding, she continues to focus on love and support from her family, who are stability and comfort in a world that is full of turbulence.