22 February 2025
'Strictly Come Dancing' professional Karen Hauer has admitted she goes into "hibernation mode" when the show ends.
Karen Hauer admits 'Strictly Come Dancing' can get very 'overwhelming'
The 42-year-old star - who is the longest-serving professional dancer on the BBC Latin and ballroom show, having joined in 2012 - has admitted the job is "overwhelming" and she is left feeling "quite empty" when the season ends and needs to “shut down” and “refill herself”.
Taking part in Telegraph Magazine’s ‘My Saturday’ column, she wrote: “If it’s Strictly season or I’m touring, the schedule is mad. I don’t have a regular life and I work so much that my brain is like a spinning wheel. It’s nice when I’m at home and I can breathe. I go to a café called Fred and Ginger Coffee with my boyfriend, Simon [Davidson, a sports marketing manager]. We have granola and walk the dogs.”
Karen admits she shuts out everyone, except her partner, when she’s on downtime to focus on her self-care.
She penned: "I lie on the couch for a couple of hours and try not to feel guilty. I’m pretty basic and I like it like that, because work is often so overwhelming. I don’t answer the phone – my friends and family know I need to shut down and go into hibernation mode. In my job, you’re always giving, and you receive applause and energy and that’s gorgeous, but you’re left quite empty so it’s nice to be in your own space to refill yourself."
Karen also spilled that she “hides in a cupboard” and puts her headphones on for some alone time backstage at ‘Strictly’ to escape the madness.
She shared: “During Strictly, I hide in a cupboard. The girl professionals share a massive dressing room – we’re messy, it’s like an explosion in there – and I have my corner that nobody goes to. I put my earphones in and I’m like, ‘Just leave me alone for, like, 10 minutes so I can get myself together.’ I love the adrenalin rush though, it’s what my brain needs, emotionally. I’ve been doing the show for 13 years and that buzz never goes.”
English (US) ·