AMANDA Abbington’s fiancé Jonathan Goodwin has posted a cryptic message about ‘terrible circumstances’ as it was revealed that Giovanni Pernice has quit Strictly Come Dancing.
In recent months Gio, 33, has faced allegations over his tough training methods from previous celebrity partners, including actress Amanda, 52.
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Last night The Sun revealed that the Italian dancer has quit Strictly and told friends he is now instead seeking a fresh start on other TV shows.
Just hours before the news broke, Amanda’s fiance Jonathan took to social media to share a enigmatic post about ‘the good and the bad’.
He wrote on Instagram: “We don’t control what happens to us… but we do control how we feel about it….
“Every single moment that we live adds depth and weight to our identity.
Read more on Amanda Abbington
“The good… and the bad… it is literally impossible to become an adult and not experience at least a few terrible circumstances…
“The real test of character is how we react to them.”
Gio feels that he has achieved all he can on Strictly
A source
A source told The Sun last night: “Gio feels the scrutiny on him has become too much, and now is the time to make a fresh start.
“He wants to focus on other TV projects, and feels he’s achieved all he can on Strictly, having won the trophy back in 2021 and reaching the final an unprecedented four times.
“He remains adamant he’s done nothing wrong other than being a hard taskmaster, but knows his style of training isn’t to everyone’s liking — especially in this day and age.
“He has a lot of other exciting projects in the pipeline right now, and he’s just super-excited to get cracking on them.
“This, now, is his priority.”
Giovanni has been involved in some controversy with a number of female contestants he’s been paired with over the years.
Amanda, Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh have previously met up to share stories of what it was like working with him.
Just last month The Sun revealed that Giovanni was going to have crunch talks with the BBC over his future on the dance competition.
Last year Amanda quit Strictly after she missed a week due to undisclosed medical reasons.
A ‘feud with Giovanni’ was also revealed as just weeks before it was reported that the pair were clashing behind the scenes.
Amanda wasn’t keen on Gio’s ‘militant’ approach to training for the dance competition.
After she quit, the star complained to the BBC and claimed that the show left her suffering with PTSD – and they said that they were taking it ‘incredibly seriously’.
Chance to shine solo
NEWS to make a million housewives’ hearts break; but the right news.
After months of fevered speculation concerning his “vigorous” training methods, Giovanni Pernice has cut his losses, and quit the show that made him a household name. (And, as mentioned, a housewives’ favourite).
Frankly, Gio’s position on Strictly had become untenable.
One unhappy celebrity partner is unlucky. Four is unacceptable.
By all accounts, away from the dance floor, Giovanni is nice chap.
Certainly, he was, for many years, a hugely popular figure behind the scenes.
But since Amanda Abbington very publicly quit the show, citing “private medical reasons”- which she later elaborated was PTSD, from the stress of training up to 10 hours a day with Gio – his popularity with fellow pros is understandably on the wane.
No-one wants to be associated with a headline-stealing taskmaster, one who makes his partners cry.
In his defence, Giovanni is a passionate Sicilian, one who grew up in dance schools where crying through exhaustion was the norm. This was his norm.
But in 2024, on a glossy, Saturday night celebrity dance show, this isn’t normal.
He’s an incredibly good-looking, charming and talented performer – he has already been flooded with “exciting TV offers”.
This, then, is Gio’s cha-cha-chance to shine, solo, and win over a whole new legion of fans… not just the housewives.
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