Angela Rippon's heartbreaking split from husband and his new life abroad
BBC's oldest Strictly Come Dancing contestant Angela Rippon has been wowing fans and viewers of the show with her skills and flexibility while doing the Cha Cha Cha with partner Kai Widdrington.
The 78-year-old has been a household name for decades since starting her television career at BBC South West in 1966. Angela has covered a huge variety of shows - from hard-hitting news programmes to hosting the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest and even co-presenting the BBC's coverage of the wedding of King Charles and Princess Diana.
At one point Angela even hosted the original version of Strictly and is now back as a contestant hoping to take home the Glitterball Trophy. Her first performance was a dance to Shirley Bassey's version of Pink's Get The Part Started which earned the presenter and dance partner Kai 28 out of 40 points.
She even surprised fans when effortlessly lifted her legs into the air, with some calling her a 'Queen' for the leg raise. Although the star is well known for her impressive list of presenting and reporting gigs over the years, she has mostly kept her private life out of the spotlight.
Angela was the original host of Come Dancing (BBC)
Now, she's a fan favourite in Strictly (BBC/Kieron McCarron)Relationships
As alluring as Angela's life may be, she has had to deal with a fair bit of heartache along the way, with her marriage to childhood sweetheart Christopher Dare which ultimately ended in a "painful" breakup. The couple, who were childhood sweethearts, married in 1967, just as her career was starting.
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At the time, Angela was just 22 years old. She reportedly met the engineer at a YMCA dance. The couple, who never had children, lived out their married life in a picturesque 17th-century cottage on the edge of the moorlands of Dartmoor, but sadly, their love story didn't have a fairytale ending.
In 1989, the duo decided to go their separate ways. She didn't publicly announce the split for more than a year. By that point, Christopher was already living with a fellow divorcée, Judy. When she was 60 years old, Angela opened up about this "stressful" period in her life during an interview with Modern & Mature, recalling: "I don't think it did because it wasn't an acrimonious split.
Angela with her first husband, Chris Dare (Graham Wood/ANL/REX/Shutterstock)
Chris moved abroad when the coupe divorced (Getty Images)"It was a stress, of course it was. It was a very stressful period for all sorts of reasons. My immediate feeling was, 'Oh God, I've failed at this'. But in fact, he and I are still good friends. I talk to him on the phone a couple of times a month. We email each other. He lives in Spain now with his partner, Judy. We exchange cards at birthdays and Christmas. Judy kind of updates me on what they're doing with their home down in Spain. It's a good relationship for all of us."
She's kept all her relationships since then quiet. During an interview with Prima back in March, cover star Angela revealed she'd had long-term relationships since her divorce but had opted to keep them "private". She explained: "I was married for 25 years and when we were parting, Christopher told me, 'I got fed up of people coming to our house all the time'. It made me realise that when you do a job that's public-facing, you have to respect the privacy of your partner. Hardly anybody – beyond my very close circle of friends – would know who my partners have been over the past several years."
However, she doesn't plan to walk down the aisle ever again as she once told MailOnline in 2015, Angela reflected: "I've discovered I'm very happy being single. I suppose, if I'm honest, when your heart is broken it's painful and I don't want to go there again.”
Children and home
Angela has no children (Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Angela with Kai on Strictly (PA)Angela doesn't have children of her own but has a godson and two 'honorary goddaughters' - whom she has a close relationship with. Her godchildren are the son and daughters of two of her best friends. Angela once said: "I've had young people around me. I was there when they were babies and I've seen them grow up so I feel as if I've got a kind of surrogate family."
The journalist has a home in London but it has been said she spends time between the capital city and her hometown, Devon. The star spends the holidays in Devon with her family and the rest of her time in west London. Discussing her family home in the coastal town, she said: "I inherited the family home just outside Tavistock on the edge of Dartmoor when my mother died. The extended family, including my godson and his wife, always join me there for Christmas." The star also has a flat in the south of France.
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