James and Ola Jordan Speak Out After Split
After ending their 22-year marriage, James and Ola Jordan have decided to talk publicly about the split. The pair, who were the longest-standing couple in Strictly Come Dancing, revealed on Friday that their divorce is final after they separated for a while and James moved out of the family home in Kent.
James, 48, posted the couple’s united statement on his Instagram account the next day. He elaborated on how he had been in terrible mental shape and described that ‘horrible’ decision as something that was not easy at all for them.
This was the message they sent: Having been together for over 26 years, we never imagined that we would be faced with having to break up the situation. When the latest news stories about our relationship came through the press, we suddenly became an object of people’s interest, and we were inundated with messages.
So, as we believe it is crucial to tell you yourselves rather than let hearsay get the upper hand, we have finally spoken out. Throughout our lives, we valued the support people have been giving us. Therefore, only our news will tell the truth.
James and his wife Reveal Painful Marriage Struggles
‘For the moment, we are taking a break and are giving each other some space while we cope with rather challenging personal matters. ‘They also shared, “Our daughter, six-year-old Ella, is our only consideration right now.” ‘
The couple remarked, ‘Our main and only priority, in fact, always has been and will continue to be our precious daughter Ella. We are focused on raising her as a team and will certainly give our best efforts to provide her with maximum support, warmth, and steadiness.’
‘Frankly, James, my mental health has not been satisfactory for a long while now. I feel that in many ways, I am worse off than others think and that I really need time to myself to be healthy, not only for me but also for Ella too. At the moment, one of us, or both of us, are not quite ready. We are doing our very best to move through the most challenging time of our lives, and it is just people we ask, ‘Please remember that there is the real life of real people and deep emotions at the heart behind every news item, a remark, and a post.’
James and Ola Ask for Privacy Amid Split
We truly are in the dark, not least as we don’t know the future, or at least we have no idea what it brings. The only thing to focus on and carry on for is today, taking things day by day. We are doing what each of us believes to be right for us, our family, and more so… Ella. We are so grateful to you all for your love, kindness, and support that you showed us for years. It was always you who supported us on our journey so much, and we would like to show our gratitude by providing this honest update. At this moment, we mainly want kind-hearted people, understanding, and a bit of a shield against the public as our family deals with it all together. Thank you for your support.’
About the issue of his mental difficulties, James recently gave us a personal account, stating that following the passing away of his cherished father, his mental health has been gradually getting worse.
Alan passed away in 2021. At the time, James was talking to us about the pain of the loss, about the grief and the situation wherein he was not only physically but also psychologically exhausted so much that he was not sure if it was only he who felt the weakness or someone was coming into the house and that was the moment he thought he was having a mental illness because he was so stressed and anxiety was on a level to say the least, very, very bad.
James described how his daughter was like a miracle and how he got back on track thanks to his family, primarily Ola Jordan, his wife and dance partner, who gave him the strength to overcome his emotional and difficult period. Comments poured in as fans wished James all the best and offered support: ‘I sincerely hope that you can meet again.” Wishing you all kinds of love,’ wrote fans.
James and Ola Jordan’s 22-Year Relationship Timeline
First dates: James and Ola were a couple from 1999 when the relationship commenced to 2003 when they decided to get married, the first 4 years of their relationship culminating in marriage.
They gave birth to their daughter Ella in February 2020 via IVF as a successful result of a 3-year-long IVF and conception journey. As a longtime couple, they never hid their love story and their journey. In addition to that, even private details of disagreements and romantic life have been disclosed to their loyal fans through the couple’s public speaking in the past.
As for James, at the 18-year anniversary in 2017, he acknowledged the fact that he admitted to the difficult times, even in marriage. James also shared with Lorraine that life with Ola has gone through rough times, when he said it. At the same time, the couple has been sharing stories of their love problems in the past. In particular, Ola revealed, “Life is not only about beautiful moments, and sometimes people get misled by others’ Instagram or Facebook posts, you know, thinking they all have perfectly amazing lives, but in fact, the truth is different…
‘Marriage doesn’t mean that it’s going to be perfect in every detail; as a matter of fact, nobody has a perfect marriage. It is rather an ongoing effort by the couple; I strongly believe that as long as both of them have the desire to remain together, their love story will continue. It is going to happen…
You have those tough moments in your relationship, and it’s the time you need that support from your partner. But actually, you know, in most of the cases that kind of support is not even recognized. It really, in the eyes of others, seems like everything is perfect; all the people are very happy.’
Their Relationship Faced Highs and lows.
However, in July 2023, when a new episode of the couple happened, they said that their intimate relations were resumed after initially admitting that having sex with ‘mom & dad bods’ isn’t the best idea! The former Strictly Come Dancing pros confessed that their love life was on hold since the duo became ‘fat,’ and that’s what affected their bedroom activities.
Ola blamed ‘bellies’ for getting in the way of their romance during the previous year and said that they eventually lost weight through their fitness plan, Dance Shred, which they came up with themselves. She remarked to The Sun, “Oh, it’s just that you feel much more satisfied now, don’t you? Also, the bellies won’t jolt so frequently as they used to.”
It is a bit sad because their wedding plan was announced just three years ago, right after they had decided to have their vow renewal ceremony at the Elvis chapel during their 20th anniversary road trip in Las Vegas.
James and Ola Jordan’s Love Story Began on the Dancefloor
James and Ola Jordan spoke to The Sun about their plans for a short trip to commemorate their reunion and hinted that they might not only celebrate a new beginning but perhaps even get married once again. Jay commented, ‘Who knows where your life could take you on an alcohol-fueled evening? We loved to spend time down there very frequently prior to Ella’s arrival, and we both get enjoyment from going wild from time to time. “Perhaps we shall find ourselves there and say, ‘I do,'” he admitted, and Ola immediately responded, “At the Elvis chapel!”
The love story of James and Ola started at a dance contest held in Blackpool in 1999 when Poland-born Ola won over his heart. They got married four years after that. Dancing couples were the initial part of their relationship. However, it later became romantic when James decided to ask her to marry him, and eventually the two got married in October 2003.
Both James and Ola became stars after joining the cast of the BBC One celebrity show Strictly Come Dancing back in the year 2006. Their last Strictly performance was for the twelfth season by James and the fourth one for Ola.
