Strictly winner Stacey Dooley has been secretly dating her dance partner Kevin Clifton, her ex boyfriend has revealed.
Her ex Sam Tucknott, who was with Stacey for five years, told of their split after he spotted a text message flash up on Stacey's phone from Kevin, 36, which read: "I love you."
Personal trainer Sam, 30, told the Sun: "The blame is with Kevin. He’s an absolute rat."
He told of his feelings of devastation and betrayal at Stacey's relationship with Kevin but said he still loves her.
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, he said: "I am so respectful of her, but I am gutted and disappointed and I feel so let down that she did not have the respect for me to tell me and just come clean.
"I am never gong to believe her or trust her but ultimately I still love her."
Sam revealed Kevin texted Stacey during Strictly Come Dancing last November, saying: "I love dancing with you and spending every minute I can with you.
He also said he had suspicions in the run-up to the show's final on BBC1 in December. He also branded Kevin a "slippery snake."
After Stacey and Kevin's win on Strictly, she said of her dance partner: "You know how highly I think of you. I think you are the biggest gem. You're patient, you're talented, your choreography is second to none. You so deserve this."
Kevin responded: "You are so lovely and I just think the absolute world of you."
Sam told the Mail on Sunday: "At the start of Strictly, they go into rehearsals and she made it clear that she really wanted to be partnered with Kevin because he had got to the final four times.Kevin Clifton
"He seemed a genuinely nice guy.
"At the time I couldn't care who she went with. I was like, 'just enjoy it and do well.'"
Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid broke up with her long-term partner Dominic Cotton a few weeks after her Strictly campaign partnering Kevin ended.
Pop star Louise Redknapp also danced with Kevin on the show.
Sam continued: "Adults make their own choices. I just know that he is a slippery snake – a proper rat."
"To have that relationship where you are best buddies, but then you start going cold because you start fancying their girlfriend – I hold no respect for him whatsoever."
Sam confronted Kevin in a video call. "He went white. I just stuck it on him.
"You’re an absolute rat. How you conducted yourself. Just a slippery, slimy snake."
"He didn’t say a word. He looked petrified. He looked so shocked."
