02 February 2024 , 17:12
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John Whaite has shared and inspiring message with the LGBTQ+ community after marrying his partner of 16 years.
Former Strictly Come Dancing star and Great British Bake Off winner John, 34, tied the knot with his partner Paul Atkins after admitting that he 'fell in love' with his professional dancer partner on Strictly, Johannes Radebe.
The TV star was partnered with Johannes on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021, where he reached the final and later admitted he had fallen victim to the Strictly curse. After briefly splitting from his then-fiancé Paul, John has revealed he married his partner in a secret ceremony in New York.
John has tied the knot with Paul (john_whaite/Instagram)
John said he fell in love with his Strictly partner in 2021 (Darren Quinton/Birmingham Live)Along photos of the happy couple, John wrote on Instagram: "Our big day in the Big Apple. Mr & Mr. 'No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death."
He continued: "It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfilment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.' Justice Anthony Kennedy, 2015".
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Sharing an inspiring message with the LGBTQ+ community, John took to his stories to write: "How lucky we are to live in a time when so many of you are being so beautiful and kind about two fellas getting hitched. I'm sure many queer kids lived in deep fear that this would never happen (in some places that fear is very much still a reality).
"Thank you all for your kind words and love. Love always wins. It has to," he added as he gushed over his special day. Following his joyous marriage announcement, John's Strictly partner Johannes commented: "Massive congratulations," while fellow Strictly stars Maisie Smith and Rhys Stephenson wrote: "Omg so happy for you," and "Congratulations guys!!!" respectively.
The couple tied the knot in New York City (john_whaite/Instagram)Last year, John revealed that he "fell in love" with Johannes while they competed on Strictly. “When you’re physically pressed against another man for 10 hours a day, things move emotionally … I fell in love with him,” he told The Times. “I can’t speak for him – because I’m not allowed to, legally – but it felt like there was love there. Paul of all people deserved to understand how I was feeling.
“You go through life being told that you’ll fall in love with someone, you’ll get married, you’ll have children and that’s it. But love can’t just be directed to one person. The heart can easily split into two or three or four. And those loves aren’t mutually exclusive," he added.
John explained the couple spent some time apart, but after they reunited, the Bake Off winner agreed to only speak to Johannes "occasionally" as being in contact with the professional dancer would be "tricky" for Paul. Johannes later told The Times that her and John are "friends for life".