Holly Carpenter has responded to Dancing with the Stars romance rumours.
The former Miss Ireland was partnered with professional dancer, Curtis Pritchard, before the 22-year-old was injured in a nightclub attack after Christmas and was forced to pull out of the competition.
The dance partners are still hoping for his return though, as they built a strong friendship during their weeks of training for the competition.
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, the social media star said that while many of their co-stars joke about their relationship behind-the-scenes, they are nothing more than good friends.
“It’s pretty platonic. Everyone is saying ‘Oh, you two, you’ve got great chemistry’ and slagging us. But no, we are just great friends,” she revealed.
The 27-year-old admitted that she spends a lot of time with the dancer and can see why people think of the Strictly curse: “We hit it off straight away and you spend really, really long days together. We are rehearsing Monday to Friday all day and you go for breakfast and lunch together.”
“So I can see how people say ‘the Strictly curse’, because you literally feel so comfortable with them.”
Holly also admitted that it’s difficult to train with a new partner, as pro-dancer, Trent Whiddon, is replacing Curtis until he recovers from his injuries.
“It’s hard at the start when you are nervous and for me I had never danced before, so when it comes to things like the lifts, you just have to fall back and trust they are going to be in the right place to catch you. So having to rebuild that trust with someone new so quickly is a bit of a challenge.”
“It’s been pretty mental. I spent five weeks dancing with Curtis and then we broke for Christmas and then I got the call that he had been attacked on Stephen’s night. So I literally just met my new dancer [this week].”
“When I found out Curtis was fine and I was getting a replacement it was great. Trent has done BBC Strictly and he’d done loads and loads of stuff so he is a really experienced dancer, so it is just about trying to get used to each other.”
“Thankfully, the lads are dancing first so we have another week to just get to know each other and for him to learn the routine,” she added.
Dancing with the Stars begins tonight, 6th January, at 6PM on RTÉ One.
