Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Ola Jordan reportedly spent Friday, November 13, in tears after a phone argument with her estranged husband, James, following his television appearance. An unnamed source described the dispute to The Sun in a report published the following day.
The newspaper reported that Ola had welcomed James’s dance partner, Polina Mayer, to stay in the family’s spare room last year while the two worked together. Its source claimed this had deepened her hurt and that she felt James was trying to control the public account of their separation.
“There was no affair,” James, 48, said on Channel 5’s Jeremy Vine. He said he had grown closer to someone since moving out of the family home in June.
Mayer’s estranged husband, dancer Jamie Cutler, reportedly contacted Ola alleging an affair between the two performers. James’s representative has said Mayer had separated from her husband before growing closer to James.
The Couple Announced Their Separation in August
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In a joint Instagram statement on August 8, the couple announced they were taking time apart after 26 years together. They said they were working through difficult personal circumstances and asked for privacy.
James wrote that he had been struggling and wanted to focus on improving his well-being. Both said the happiness and stability of their six-year-old daughter, Ella, would remain their priority.
The couple married in October 2003 and joined the BBC dance competition in 2006. Ola won the Glitterball Trophy with sports presenter Chris Hollins in 2009, and the pair continued working together on dance projects after leaving the show.
James Explains His Account on Jeremy Vine
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James appeared alongside former Strictly colleague Brendan Cole to promote their stage tour, Dance Rebels: Strictly Unleashed. Promoter A Way With Media lists performances from April 7 through June 20, 2027.
During the interview, James said photographs of him sitting beside Mayer had cropped out other people, making the pair appear to be alone. He said other cast members and members of the public were present. He also challenged photographs of them arriving at a hotel, saying they were meeting friends.
James said he had been reluctant to discuss the split without Ola present to give her account. He described feeling caught between appearing guilty if he stayed silent and defensive if he responded, and said he planned to issue a statement on social media.
Ola Says She Tried to Save Their Marriage
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Ola, 44, gave her own account in an interview published by HELLO! on November 8. The main conversation preceded the new relationship reports. Responding afterward, she told the magazine she was “utterly devastated.”
She traced the change to James’s 2024 Legends of the Dance Floor tour and subsequent pantomime work. Those jobs kept him away for longer than they were used to after years of working together, and she said he seemed unhappy when he returned.
Ola said James first discussed moving out in late 2025. She tried to save the marriage, fearing they would struggle to recover their relationship once he left. She described losing her husband, closest friend and professional partner together.
Ola Discusses Parenting and Her Future in Dance
Ola said parenting arrangements were working, with James living nearby and seeing Ella regularly. Their conversations had become largely focused on their daughter.
She continues teaching and dancing, but said she will need a new professional partner after working with James since she was 17. After a guest appearance on Strictly: It Takes Two, she said she would be interested in judging the main competition, drawing on her experience on Poland’s Dancing with the Stars.
