'I've fallen in love' Johannes Radebe says Strictly partner John Whaite changed his life

JOHANNES RADEBE has opened up in a new interview about his "lovely" relationship with John Whaite.

By Hollie Beale, Assistant Showbiz Editor

Strictly: Johannes said he was a mess in the semi-final

Johannes Radebe, 34, made Strictly Come Dancing history when he was partnered with John Whaite, 32, making the first male same-sex pairing on the show. The Strictly professional has opened up in a new interview about his "love" for his Strictly partner and how he changed his life.

I'm in love with the man.

Johannes Radebe

The Strictly pairing was a massive success with Strictly viewers after they reached the final before losing out to Rose Ayling Ellis and Giovanni Pernice.

Speaking on Reign With John Smith about his relationship with John, Johannes said: "I have fallen in love with my art form again because of John.

"The opportunity to be so creative with what we had to come up with every week.

"I was trying to figure things out as I was going along. Not once did he make me feel otherwise.

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'I've fallen in love' Johannes Radebe says Strictly partner John Whaite changed his life

'I've fallen in love' Johannes Radebe says Strictly partner John Whaite changed his life (Image: BBC)

Johannes admitted he

Johannes admitted he "loves" John (Image: INSTAGRAM)

"In my moments of doubt, John just stood by me and waited for me to figure it all out.

"And I can't tell you that patience, I'm in love with the man."

Johannes continued: "I know he's a married man - soon to be - but let me tell you something, people come into your life and you just don't know how you've been doing without them this entire time.

"And that has been John for me, a really, really lovely lad."

John and Johannes made it to the final on Strictly

John and Johannes made it to the final on Strictly (Image: BBC)

Johannes has said the partnership has made him see dance differently

Johannes has said the partnership has made him see dance differently (Image: BBC)

"I can't tell you, he's the nicest person you’re ever gonna meet in your whole entire life."

John and Johannes are currently doing the Strictly live tour and went on Good Morning Britain to talk about their time on the dance show.

Speaking on the breakfast show, John revealed he thought he would receive an "insurmountable" amount of trolling due to his Strictly partnership.

John said: "I thought maybe I should dance with a straight man.

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"Because I just thought the flak we would receive as two gay men would be just insurmountable because we've been conditioned to expect that - we were both bullied at school and trolling has never been as bad as it is now on the internet.

"But we both kind of felt that separately, and only when we came together on our Strictly experience did we talk about that and realise that we had that same trepidation, that same anxiety."

John continued: "But we were pleased to say that the love we received far outweighed any trolling because we did receive some trolling.

"But we don't focus on that because the block button is a very powerful tool and once people are out of sight, they're out of mind."

Touching upon his Strictly experience, Johannes added: "I think it has given me a lot of confidence to go out into the world and just be and know that it is OK to be who you are.

"It was beautiful. It was absolutely beautiful."

He added: "Because even my family back home, they're different people because of this. So it's really been amazing, as you can imagine."

You can listen to the full podcast Reign With Josh Smith featuring Johannes Radebe here.

TV dancing sensation and international champion Johannes Radebe is thrilled to be presenting his first UK Tour, Johannes Radebe: Freedom, which will open on 16 March and run through to 1 May 2022.

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