Former Strictly Come Dancing star Pasha Kovalev has admitted that he misses taking part in one activity with his wife, Rachel Riley, but has reached a point where they don’t have to feel “guilty”.
Pasha, a Latin and ballroom dancer pro, did an interview with four other well-known names from the world of dancing and ex-Strictly stars: Vincent Simone, Brendan Cole, James Jordan, and Ian Waite.
During the chat, Pasha offered readers a glimpse into his home life with the Countdown star, with whom he shares two daughters, Maven and Noa, and how he navigates working out at home.
Considering his profession, you may assume that dancing is part of their everyday life. Yet, Pasha admitted that he and Rachel don’t have as many opportunities to dance as they’d like.
Pasha told Heat magazine: “I don’t go to the gym or dance. I’m perfect the way I am. Just kidding – I work out at home a little. As soon as I start working out, the kids start jumping on me, and I modify the exercises to fit two little monkeys on my shoulder. It’s fun.”
He continued: “Rachel and I don’t dance together as much as we want to. But now they’re at the age where we can go out without feeling guilty about leaving them with my mum or a babysitter, we’re looking into doing more dancing.”
He added that they enjoy a “cheeky salsa” from time to time, describing the dance as their “guilty pleasure”.
Rachel recently spoke to WalesOnline about the evolving family dynamics she shares with her husband and children. Pasha and Rachel first met in 2013 when they competed alongside each other on the BBC competition.
She discussed how she balanced motherhood with her work life and noted how it’s “always changing”, as their routine changes as the kids get older and start undertaking different types of activity.
Rachel also revealed that she works freelance and lives in London but films Countdown up north in Manchester. Meanwhile, Pasha will sometimes work in the evenings or be on tour.
Rachel dubbed it a “weird juggle” but added they do find time to dance “around the kitchen”. Her children also enjoy watching clips of the couple on Strictly, but witnessing Pasha live on stage led to some questions.
“I took them both to his show, the little one had never seen him dance on stage, so she was just full of questions the whole time,” Rachel recalled. “[It was] question, question, question, question.”
Addressing her kids’ future careers, Rachel added that you simply don’t know “what they’re going to do” when they get older, but you wish to support them with “whatever they decide they like”.