13 February 2023 , 08:55
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Ben Cohen has opened up on his romance with Kristina Rihanoff ahead of their wedding later this year.
The pair met when they were partnered together on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013 and share daughter Milena together, whom they welcomed in 2016.
Ben, 44, then popped the question to Kristina, 45, during a family holiday to the Maldives in November.
And as the wedding planning gets underway ahead of their nuptials in the summer, the couple have opened up on their romance.
Ben revealed: "Over the last nine years we’ve been through the wringer. Our working days are always full throttle and for so long we’ve been in our own bubble. Now I’m looking forward to having a get-together with loved-ones.
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"Most of all I’m happy to be doing this with Kristina.
Ben and Kristina discuss their romance ahead of their wedding (Hello!/PA Wire)"To support each other through difficult times in business is the ultimate test in a relationship. I’ve watched her flourish, from her becoming a mum to growing as a businesswoman, and it has strengthened our bond," he said in a chat with Hello! magazine.
Meanwhile, Kristina gushed over how romantic Ben was – despite him claiming he wasn't the romantic type – and said his proposal was "beyond imagination".
She gushed: "The way he proposed was amazing and where he did it is now my favourite place in the world."
Kristina added how her friends have commented on how Ben "needs to show other men how to do it".
The couple talk wedding plans in a chat with Hello! magazine (PA wire/Hello!)
The couple got engaged in the Maldives (WireImage)The couple were enjoying the crystal clear waters and gorgeous beaches of the Maldives when the proposal happened.
Kristina and Ben took a boat to a neighbouring island before she noticed a lantern-lit heart along with the question "Will you marry me?" written in the sand.
She 'hadn't the slightest idea' Ben was planning to ask her to marry him.
"I was overcome with emotion and said ‘Yes, yes and yes’ straight away," she explained at the time in a previous chat with Hello! "My first reaction was wow. It was absolutely surreal and I couldn’t believe what was happening."
The couple share daughter Milena together (krihanoff/Instagram)The pair are set to marry but have ruled out having more children.
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Speaking about motherhood, Kristina told Mail Online: "Your life rotates around them, and they make your life special, and there is nothing better than being a mum.
"Those things before which used to worry me, like how skinny I was before, does not bother me anymore.
"I want to be healthy, and I want to be around my daughter for as long as I can. There are much more important things in my life now."
Ben and Kristina are parents to Mila while Ben has twins Harriette and Isabelle from his marriage to Abbie Blayney Cohen.