Nikita Kuzmin’s life off-screen - raunchy romances and worrying diagnosis

Nikita Kuzmin has been a firm favourite among Celebrity Big Brother viewers.

The Strictly Come Dancing professional has swapped the dancefloor for reality TV and has hoped to make his BBC bosses "proud" during his time in the iconic house. Just this week Nikita, originally from Ukraine, was described by fans as an ’absolute gem’ after he supported housemate Colson Smith.

The Corrie star, 25, had ended up in tears after Levi Roots named him as the ’most boring’. However Nikia, 26, was there to comfort him and cheer him up. While the Strictly pro is no stranger to the spotlight after finding fame on the hit BBC competition, and dazzled fans into the final last year with Layton Williams, he lives a relatively quiet life away from the cameras.

He was destined for success when his family moved to Italy to pursue his future in dance, and has won multiple competitions before moving into TV. However along the way, he’s suffered some heartbreak and has learned to come to terms with his medical diagnosis, which he initially thought would put an end to his career...

Medical diagnosis

At 13, Nikita was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and has been open about not letting it put a stop to his dancing career. He calls it his "superpower" and despite worrying at first that it might impact his dancing, he soon found out many other famous faces live with the disease.

Appearing on Morning Live, he said: "When I found out, I thought, ’My career’s over,’ and the next morning I woke up and I saw all those kids smiling and they were happy and they were diabetics just like me. I went out of my room and - this is one of my best memories in my life - there was this wall of fame.

"It was all of the famous, successful diabetics - Olympians, Paralympians, presidents, actors - everything. And actually, I think I made quite a few of them up because I thought there was quite a few more people than there actually were. I checked a couple of days ago and most of them were not even there."

Whilst in the CBB house, viewers thought they’d spotted a phone as the dancer entered the diary room, confusing fans. However it turned out to be his blood sugar monitor. One viewer quizzed: "Was that a phone on nikitas lap in the diary room?"Another added: "No one else notice Nikita has a phone or something on his knee at the beginning of his interview with BB."

But viewers who knew about Nikita’s health condition were quick to explain he did not have a phone, with one writing: "He’s diabetic. It’s his machine to check his sugars." A second added: "Nikita is diabetic he’s checking blood sugar it’s not a phone!!"

Love life

Nikita has endured something of a rollercoaster love life, dating models and famous women. He was previously in a relationship with fellow professional dancer, Nicole Wirt, for five years, but they split in October 2022, fuelling curse rumours.

A source told The Sun that Nikita was the one who pulled the plug because he wanted to concentrate on his career. "Nikita wanted to totally focus on this series of Strictly and decided a while back he wanted to end his relationship with Nicole," a source said.

"They had been together for five years and it ended up being a mutual decision. Nicole is mainly based in Germany and she is getting busier with work." The Ukrainian dancer was later linked to Australian TikTok star and sex podcaster Charlie Backshall, whose podcast The Hotline included graphic details of their alleged bedroom antics.

In an episode titled ’We’re Back and I’m Still in Love’, she talked about a raunchy act she performed with a man believed to be Nikita that made her a ’new woman’. However, a source told the Daily Mail that he’d been keen to keep her racy career a secret for fear of isolating Strictly fans.

"Nikita is very aware of his brand and the fact that he stars on the most family friendly show on TV, so dating a sex podcaster conflicts hugely," the insider said. "He wanted to keep the relationship a secret until after the 2022 series had finished because he didn’t want it overshadowing his part in the show, where he danced with Paralympic star Ellie. But now Charlie is speaking openly about their relationship he knows it’ll soon come out. He really likes her and hopes their romance will work long distance."

Sadly it wasn’t to be, and he has since moved on with Lauren Jaine, a 23-year-old model. It’s unclear when Nikita and Lauren started dating, but by last summer there were rumours of a relationship.

The model supported her boyfriend publicly when he was announced as a contestant on the 2024 season of Celebrity Big Brother. Sharing a collection of pictures of them together, she wrote: "The secret is out! As much as I’m going to miss this crazy boy, I’m so excited for him to be part of this amazing experience. The gattos and I will be watching every single night! ! ! ! Love you @nikita__kuzmin."

Celebrity Big Brother continues tonight at 9PM on ITV and ITVX.

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Saffron Otter