EXCLUSIVE: Strictly’s Gorka Marquez ‘repulsed’ by fiancée Gemma Atkinson’s habit
After Gorka Marquez swapped dancing in the UK’s Strictly to be a judge on the Spanish series, he and fiancé Gemma Atkinson reveal what life is really like at home – and some ‘repulsive’ habits
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Gemma and Gorka are learning to adjust to some ‘cultural chaos’ in the home(Image: Dave Nelson / Daily Mirror)
Former Hollyoaks star Gemma Atkinson and her fiancé of four years, professional dancer Gorka Marquez have come a long way as a couple since meeting behind the scenes on Strictly Come Dancing back in 2017. They’re now parents of two – six-year-old Mia and her little brother Thiago, two – and now hosting their new podcast, Lost in Translation.
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Chatting to OK! magazine about what listeners can expect, as well as a few big life updates, the couple revealed each other’s worst habits – and explained why one of them “absolutely repulses” the other. “Each week, we each message our producer individually about what’s annoyed us about each other and then have a debate about it,” Gemma said. “We also have silly games and explore the differences between Spanish and English.”
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Gemma says her childhood favourite repulses her fiancé Gorka(Image: Marco Vittur)
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One of the biggest cultural clashes for the Spanish-Mancunian couple is food, she added, revealing one of her favourite childhood favourite dishes has so far failed to impress her other half.
“For me, growing up, it was cheese pie or chippy tea with gravy every Friday. Vinegar on chips. Gorka is absolutely repulsed by this,” she said, before adding, “Thiago loves them, too. They’re his favourite.”
But vegetarian Gemma also has a few of Gorka’s favourite foods to contend with, including his love of a cured meat. “At Christmas I bring a big Spanish leg of ham home,” he shared. “It’s amazing, but Gemma’s going, ‘Get that thing out of the house!’.”
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The couple met on the 2017 series of Strictly Come Dancing(Image: Gemma Atkinson Instagram)
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But they don’t see eye to eye on everything at home(Image: UKTV)
The couple did agree however, that there’s an element of opposites attracting when it comes to their relationship. On the subject of what else bothers them, 35-year-old Gorka revealed he was a “perfectionist” but “Gemma’s messy”.
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“I’ve been folding socks wrong my whole life,” Gemma joked. “I just fold them, done. Gorka likes them next to each other, the bottom to the top, tucked in completely.”
The family are currently enjoying a different end of year with Gorka swapping a celebrity partner on the BBC’s version of Strictly, which features Alex Kingston, La Voix, and Vicky Pattison, for a regular spot on the judging panel of Spanish version.
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Gorka is a regular judge on the Spanish version of Strictly Come Dancing
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Despite not seeing their dad on screen, Gemma said the Saturday night viewing ritual is the family’s “countdown to Christmas”, and it already appeared like their two little ones might follow in their dad’s footsteps.
“They’ve got musicality. Mia’s obsessed with dancing. Thiago’s got a good ear, he sings in tune already. He loves The Greatest Showman and bangs the drum at exactly the right times.”
