Rachel Riley has no plans to marry Strictly star Pasha Kovalev: ‘I’m perfectly happy’

Countdown favourite Rachel Riley has revealed she is in no rush to tie the knot with her boyfriend Pasha Kovalev.

Riley, who met Kovalev on Strictly Come Dancing, said she is “perfectly happy” with their relationship and doesn’t want to be pressured into getting married.

“I am in love now,” she told the Daily Express. “I don’t feel I have to get married.

“I don’t think I need that pressure any more. And I am perfectly happy.”

Riley said she “never dreamt in a million years I would go out with a ballroom dancer from Russia” as they couldn’t even speak the same language when they were younger.

The mathematics whizz was partnered with Kovalev on the BBC ballroom show in 2013. At the time she was in her first year of marriage to Jamie Gilbert, who she met at university. But they announced their split in November after Riley appeared on the show.

Addressing claims that she fell victim to the Strictly curse she said: “I don’t think there’s a Strictly curse, but it does serve as a magnifying glass that shows up pre-existing fault lines.”

She continued: “I was with my ex-husband for eight or nine years and we became good friends. I met him at university and our relationship ended. We are still good friends.

“I think there is a real negative attitude to splitting up with someone in our society but it is good to stay friends.”

Kovalev will star on the upcoming series of Strictly. Former Saturdays singer Mollie King and EastEnders actor Davood Ghadami are among the first confirmed names.