Shirley Ballas’s ex-fiancé Danny Taylor has praised his new girlfriend as an ‘absolute corker’ who has helped him through dark times over the past year.
Since his split from the Strictly Come Dancing judge, 64, Danny has moved on with mother-of-two Rachel Jones, 40, the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden revealed.
Danny, who dated Shirley for six years before their split, praised his new love for helping him through ‘murky waters’ in a new social media post.
He shared pictures of Rachel on Facebook, including a snap of her on holiday and in a beer garden, and wrote: ‘Happiest of birthdays to this absolute corker!
‘A kind, caring, hilarious powerhouse — and fabulous mum to two smashing boys — who, over the last year, has helped keep me afloat through some of the hardest and most distressing times I can remember.
‘Keep the laughs coming! Big love, Normster xxx.’
Danny’s new romance first came to light when he shared a bikini photo of Rachel with him on holiday, as he bragged: ‘I’ve had worse Sundays’.
Shirley Ballas’s ex-fiancé Danny Taylor has praised his new girlfriend as an ‘absolute corker’ who has helped him through dark times over the past year
Danny, who dated Shirley for six years before their split, praised his new love for helping him through ‘murky waters’ in a new social media post
The picture was posted in June, just seven months after he ‘vanished’, leaving Shirley devastated on her birthday.
Rachel, who is the director of a Merseyside recruitment firm and 14 years younger than Shirley, basked in the sunshine on their romantic getaway.
Shirley, who’s been married twice and engaged four times, confirmed she’d split from Taylor after six years, describing it as a ‘disaster’ last year.
In August, Shirley revealed the moment she knew ‘it couldn’t go on’.
The TV star explained how his disappearance confirmed the end of their relationship, as it brought back thoughts of her brother David who had died by suicide in 2003.
Shirley said that she was with her mother Audrey, 87, on her 64th birthday when she got a call to say her then-fiancé Danny was missing.
She told The Mirror: ‘All those memories came flooding back… it triggered all these emotions.’
She spent the next few hours trying to track Danny down, calling around all his friends and family.
Since his split from the Strictly Come Dancing judge, 64, Danny has moved on with mother-of-two Rachel Jones, 40, the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden revealed (pictured)
By 2am in the early hours of the following morning she could see that he had read her worried messages concerning his whereabouts.
But Shirley was left infuriated after Danny reappeared the next day and carried on as if nothing had happened.
This was the moment she realised that she could no longer have someone in her life who could cause her such agony.
‘I will never forget that day until the day I die. I remember looking across in the middle of the night and I saw my mother was just so upset, reliving all of her trauma,’ she said.
‘I just thought “this can’t go on”. Not just for my sake, but my mum too.’
Shirley was first engaged at the age of 16 to her then-ballroom partner Nigel Tiffany.
She went on to marry her dance partner Sammy Stopford when she was 19, but the union lasted only four years before she ran away to America with Texan dancer Corky Ballas.
They tied the knot in 1985 and welcomed son Mark the following year. The pair split in 2007.
Last week Shirley insisted she has not had a facelift as she revealed her jaw-dropping transformation ahead of Strictly’s launch.
In August, Shirley revealed the moment she knew ‘it couldn’t go on’ with Danny
She admitted she feels 20 years younger as she showed off the results of a amazing non-surgical facelift.
Shirley has splashed out a massive £4,400 on high-tech aesthetic procedures including a course of NeoGen nitrogen plasma treatments from top Harley Street doctor, Dr Johanna Ward.
After seven months of procedures, the BBC star looks younger than ever as she showcased her transformation gushing that she feels more ‘confident’ and ready to appear on Strictly which launches on Saturday.
Shirley revealed: ‘I was on Instagram posting pictures of myself celebrating my 65th birthday with my mum a week ago and several women made rude comments saying, “your mum looks amazing but of course you’ve had so much work done Shirley, facelifts and all”.
‘Well, I need to set the record straight here – I haven’t had any surgical facelifts of any kind, at any time. I mean, you can tell I’ve got no stitches or scars.’
