Shirley Ballas hasn’t sworn of finding love again in the future – but she might not want to live with them if they are anything like her previous partners
Shirley Ballas has said she would rather live with her 89-year-old mother than with a man again. The Strictly Come Dancing judge, 65, now resides in south-east London with her mum Audrey Rich.
Audrey moved in permanently four years ago and Shirley says they split household chores like cooking and cleaning – unlike when she lived with ex partners, who she would end up looking after.
She said of her mother: “Living with her is the most joyous thing. She does the washing and the ironing, and still stands on a stool to clean her ornaments – though I wish she wouldn’t.”
The BBC star continued: “She puts the meals on the table, things like vegetable casseroles, and I take care of the rest. We are a bit like husband and wife.”
And Shirley says one of the best things about living with mum Audrey is she “never tells her what to say or what to do”.
In the interview with the Telegraph, Shirley opened up about her past living arrangements and said: “I’ve had a few boyfriends and I just found myself always having to take care of them. My mother, however, is self-sufficient. She doesn’t like a fuss, she doesn’t tell me what to say or tell me what to do.”
The former professional ballroom dancer turned Strictly Head Judge was last romantically involved with West End star Danny Taylor, 53. The pair were together for six years and were engaged.
But they split in late 2024 after what Shirley called “unforgivable behaviour”. Later opening up about what had happened, she revealed how Danny had disappeared during her 64th birthday celebrations.
She then spent the next few hours frantically trying to track him down, calling around all his friends and family.
At 2am, she noticed that her Whatsapps to Danny had been read. But relief turned to anger as Danny reappeared the next day and carried on as if nothing had happened.
Breaking her silence on Danny’s vanishing act in 2025, Shirley told the Mirror how it brought back triggering memories of when her brother David tragically took his own life at the age of 44.
She shared: “All those memories came flooding back… it triggered all these emotions.
“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 says. “I just thought ‘this can’t go on’. Not just for my sake, but my mum too.”
Although it didn’t work out with Danny, the experience hasn’t put Shirley off meeting someone in the future. Currently single, she revealed she has a few ‘friends’, but “nothing I would want to tag as ‘boyfriend and girlfriend”.
She added: “I love the idea of being married, even after two failed marriages and failed relationships along the way. But at this age you get set in your ways.”
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