Shirley Ballas has branded her love life a "disaster" after splitting from her fiancé Danny Taylor.
The 'Strictly Come Dancing' star - who has been married twice in the past - is single again at the age of 64 after her relationship with her fiancé, 51, broke down and Shirley admits she's grateful to have the love and support of her mother Audrey and her son Mark Ballas.
During an appearance on the 'Great Company' podcast, Shirley explained: "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."
She added: "You know, all I keep saying at the end of the day is I’m blessed to have had my son, and without the journey I took, I wouldn’t have him, and then I wouldn’t have my grandson.
"So, it’s fate, if you want to, it’s directions that you choose."
Shirley became engaged to her former dance partner Nigel Tiffany when she was 16 and later married another ballroom partner Sammy Stopford at 18.
The marriage lasted four years and she went on to wed Corky Ballas in 1985 and they welcomed son Mark together before splitting in 2007.
Shirley added of her relationships: "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?"
She went on to confess she believes her rocky love life could be the result of her unstable childhood after her dad walked out on her mum when she was a toddler.
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Daily Record)Shirley said: "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.
"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."
English (US) ·