'This one hurt, because we belonged together...' Karen Hauer opens up on demise of marriage to Kevin Clifton
Karen Hauer has revealed she was prepared to try and save her marriage to second husband Kevin Clifton but he didn't want to fight for their relationship.
'Strictly Come Dancing' star Karen Hauer would have tried to save her marriage to Kevin Clifton if she believed he still wanted to be with her.
The ballroom dancer was with former 'Strictly' professional Kevin from 2015 until they announced their divorce in 2018.
Now, Karen has opened up on the final months of the marriage, admitting she decided to confront Kevin about whether he was happy in their relationship and that proved to be the catalyst for their eventual separation.
Appearing on Paul C. Brunson's 'We Need To Talk' podcast, she said: "This one hurt, because we belonged together. You wouldn't say each other's names without following the other person's name.
"I felt that he distanced himself from me, but I was probably doing the same. Because I felt that if you don't want me then OK, I'll retreat, I'll give you your space. It was one of those, where we're both not talking about it.
"I was like, "Do you want a divorce? Do you want to split up? I don't know what I want to do. What do you want to do? Do you know what you want? I don't know what I want. Are we broken up?'
'So it took a while actually, it took about a year... behind the scenes. In front of the scenes everything was normal."
Karen, 43, would have been prepared to fight for her marriage if Kevin, 42, had given her an indication that he still wanted to be with her.
She added: "'I knew that I would've worked on it - I would've stayed. But at the same time, I couldn't be with someone who wasn't sure of whether they wanted to be with me or not. I couldn't wait.
"I waited for a while, and I was giving him his space to think, and then funnily enough I met someone. I was literally waiting to be loved.
"He just wanted a divorce, and I didn't fight it. Something had to happen in order for him to make a decision, because I wasn't going to make the decision."
Since the divorce, Kevin found love with documentary maker Stacey Dooley who he met after being partnered with her on 'Strictly Come Dancing' in 2018.
The couple welcomed a daughter into the world in January 2023.
Karen dated opera singer David Webb before meeting businessman Jordan Wyn-Jones online and eventually going on to marry him in 2022. however, her third marriage ended in 2024.
The dancer - whose first marriage was to Matthew Hauer - says Jordan brought nothing to the relationship and in hindsight she regrets being with him.
She said: "I got myself into a relationship that I shouldn't have. I felt embarrassed that I couldn't keep anyone around me and I said to myself, 'No, I'm not going to get into a relationship... spend some time on your own.'
"'But I don't know how to be on my own.
"I wasn't home alone, but there was nothing that fulfilled me. He wasn't providing anything, there was no enhancement in my emotional being, my physical being.
"I was working, doing my thing, coming in and out of the house and letting him settle down."
