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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Niamh Spence

Strictly's Hamza Yassin 'devastated' after pro partner Jowita 'snubbed' him for Giovanni

Strictly Come Dancing winner Hamza Yassin has reportedly been left 'brokenhearted' by professional partner Jowita Pryzstal after it was revealed she's dating fellow Strictly Pro Giovanni Pernice.

Jowita and Hamza lifted the Glitterball Trophy in December as winners of the dancing competition. However, it appears Hamza could have fallen for his professional dancing partner whilst the pair spent hours in rehearsals.

Hamza, 32, was described as being "besotted" with his 28-year-old dancing partner as they competed on the BBC show.

However, Jowita has been secretly dating professional dancer and 2021 winner Giovanni Pernice as the loved-up couple were pictured kissing backstage.

Hamza and professional partner Jowita Przystal won the Glitterball Trophy for Strictly Come Dancing 2022 (BBC/Guy Levy)

While the Strictly couple's romance is hotting up, it's apparently left Jowita's celebrity partner Hamza saddened as he reportedly wanted to see if their friendship could be something more.

A source told The Sun: "Hamza and Jowita became very close and at times were quite touchy-feely. People would often see them sneak off together.

"But while Jowita thinks the world of him, she held back from anything romantic and kept him slightly at arm’s length."

The insider added that when it became clear that she was involved with Giovanni, the reason for her keeping her distance became clear.

"While Hamza wants her to be happy, he was quietly devastated," they added.

Jowita Pryzstal and fellow dancing pro Giovanni Pernice went public with their romance in December (BBC)
The couple have been secretly dating for weeks and were 'caught kissing backstage' (BBC)

Rumours abut Jowita and Giovanni have been circulating since the dancers first performed together on the show in October with obvious chemistry. eagle-eyed viewers also spotted Giovanni giving Jowita a long embrace after she won the show in December.

The Strictly couple went public with their romance at Chelsea footballer Jorghino's lavish birthday bash last month.

A source told the Sun: “She and Gio are the worst kept secret, but make a great couple.”

Jowita has reportedly left celeb partner Hamza 'brokenhearted' after falling for Giovanni (Instagram)

They added: "While they both kept insisting they were single, the pair’s chemistry was ridiculous — and they kept getting busted snogging in corridors."

The source said that Jowita especially wanted to keeping their romance on the downlow so she could be focussed on Hamza, and the relationship did not distract from the competition.

Giovanni has previously dated after meeting partners during the Strictly competition.

Giovanni Pernice has been linked to Strictly stars in the past (Daily Mirror)
Giovanni Pernice and Jowita have been flirting for weeks (Brett D. Cove / SplashNews.com)

The 32-year-old Italian previously dated his celebrity partner Georgia May Foote, after the pair finished as runners up in 2015.

He also dated contestant Ashley Roberts in 2018, after she competed on the show, and they were together for a year. The couple broke up in 2020, with Giovanni announcing their break up on Instagram.

Most recently Giovanni was dating Love Island star Maura Higgins for four months, splitting up before Giovanni rejoined his Strictly crew for the 2022 series.

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