Soccer ace Kevin Kilbane has told how he “naturally” fell for Dancing on Ice partner Brianne Delcourt.
The former Irish international spilled the beans on finding love with the professional skater, 39, insisting: “It’s not been anything forced, we’ve fallen in love and that’s it.
“It just happened, it was just natural.”
But while their love life takes off, their time on the top show finished on Sunday when they got the chop.
Kilbane admitted that while Brianne was the one putting him through his paces during rehearsals, he was the one who made the first move.
Kevin, 43, said: “It was me, I made the first move, and I got a custard pie to start with.
“I asked her out and she said no and then it just happened.”
He told Today FM’s Dermot and Dave that the timing was right.
“I genuinely do feel blessed because we were both single going into it and that was the beauty of it all.”
The sporty pair found themselves in the ‘skate off’ on Sunday night and lost out to rivals Ian “H” Watkins and his professional partner Matt Evers.
But Kevin is still upbeat and insists that he still feels like a winner.
“I actually thought we’d be gone last week, so this week was bonus time.
“In fairness, the other six (contestants) were way better than me so I kind of knew I was on borrowed time really.
“I was genuinely way behind everybody else the whole way through, so I knew that I was on catch-up the whole time.”
He continued: “Of course we’ve had fun going through it all but I think once feelings start to come into play and you start to discuss futures, that’s when it becomes very real.
“The whole experience has been great but it was great because I met Brianne.”
The former Sunderland and Everton midfielder split from his wife Laura Harrison in 2011 after 12 years together.
The pair married when they were 22 and had spent the previous four years together.
They have two daughters, Elsie and Isla.
Speaking in 2013, Kevin told the Irish Mirror: “When I moved to Hull in 2009, I was on the road a lot. I was away three and four nights a week.
“Then I was away on international duty for Ireland 10 and 15 days at a time.
“That’s what put pressure on our relationship. That’s probably why we ended up splitting up.”
