Forget the Curse of Strictly … Fleur East ’s sexy routines on the dance show are spicing up her marriage instead.
The singer-songwriter may have been with fashion designer Marcel Badiane-Robin for 12 years, but she said: “It was like we’d got married again after the Argentine Tango!”
Fleur also revealed her husband tells her to be even sexier when she’s on the dance floor.
The 35-year-old said: “If you want the spark to be reignited in your marriage, then do Strictly. When has he ever seen me in a new look every week, moving my hips like that? When do you ever get to do that for your partner? It’s like I’m performing for him every Saturday night.
“He’s the one telling me to be sexier and more passionate.
“Doing Strictly has spiced up our marriage, for sure. It’s like our second honeymoon. We’re both loving it.”
Marcel, 34, has also struck up a bromance with Fleur’s dance partner, Vito Coppola. Fleur said: “The other day, me and my husband got into bed and Marcel was next to me, texting and laughing. He was like, ‘Vito is just so funny!’
“Marcel and my sister Keshia are with me at all the rehearsals so we have become a bit of a four.”
Fleur and 32-year-old Vito – who performed their Couple’s Choice routine to a Destiny’s Child megamix in Blackpool last night – have had their ups and downs on Strictly.
They have been in the dance-off twice but topped last week’s leaderboard with an almost perfect score of 39 out of 40. But Fleur, who was the runner-up on The X Factor in 2014, insisted: “We aren’t looking at winning. We’re just looking at it week by week and taking baby steps.”
Strictly has previously been accused of lacking diversity. But with Countryfile star Hamza Yassin the favourite and Kiss FM DJ Tyler West still in the running, Fleur is hoping for an all-black final this year. She said: “I think this series has just been so incredible for representation. To see Afrobeats on Strictly… my heart! I was so proud.
“I bumped into Hamza and said, ‘This is big. This is big, right?’ And he was like, ‘I know!’
“Even this week, with us doing our routine to Destiny’s Child, it’s so different for Strictly.
“The show has been on for 20 years but the fact it is still breaking the mould and having moments like
that is so exciting. It’s why I wanted to do it.”
