Strictly's Gorka Marquez didn't want to be partnered with girlfriend Gemma Atkinson

express.co.uk:

Strictly Come Dancing when they took part in the same series in 2017.The couple, who first met during the ballroom competition, have become engaged and proud parents to their daughter Mia, 2.But in a new interview, the 31-year-old declared he was glad that he didn't end up having the Hollyoaks star as his partner, insisting that she was "too tall".Gorka, who ended up being partnered with former X Factor star and singer Alexandra Burke that year, made it clear in his new interview with Scala Radio that dancing with Gemma was out of the question for him."I didn't want to dance with her," he shared."No, I didn't want to dance with Gemma.She was very tall for me."Gemma ended up being partnered with Slovenian dancer Aljaz Skorjanec, which would have indeed been a relief for Gorka."You see some people when they know who they want to dance with or who they don't want to dance with, if they say they want to dance with that person over there they are very friendly, very happy, very helpful.He added: "If they don't want to dance with someone, some people don't even talk to them."Fellow dancer Karen Hauer, who was also interviewed alongside Gorka, went on to echo similar words."We try to be courteous and amicable to everyone whether you want to dance with them or not," she explained."If they can't dance they might turn out to be the loveliest person."In an interesting turn of events, Gorka and Gemma both ended up making it to the finals with their dance partners.As the series neared its end in December 2017, romance rumours between the pair were in full effect.It was just two months later, in February 2018, when Gemma and Gorka went public with their relationship.To make the announcement all the more special, they shared the news.