9 September 2024, 14:39 | Updated: 9 September 2024, 15:34
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Former England rugby player Ben Cohen admits he is ‘fighting to save his home and his relationship’ after appearing on court on behalf of partner Kristina Rihanoff.
Cohen appeared in court as a witness to defend 46-year-old Rihanoff, who appeared in court under the name Kristina Pchenitchnykh, was caught driving her Audi Q3 without insurance on April 4.
The 45-year-old spent 20 minutes telling the court how difficulties in the couple’s relationship had led to Rihanoff being caught by police, the Northampton Telegraph reports.
He said: “I get up every day and I fight not to lose everything – to lose my cars and my house and my relationship.”
Cohen said he was responsible for insuring both of the couple’s cars and had been looking for a less expensive policy in February after being quoted £7,500 by Aviva.
He chose a policy with Dial Direct on February 22.
But Cohen said he later overlooked a text message from the firm warning him the policy would be cancelled unless he share his no claims details while overseas.
He said he did not check the company guidelines and failed to respond since he did not have a no claims bonus – the policy was cancelled on March 7.
Rihanoff, who Cohen says was unaware of the cancellation, was caught driving without insurance weeks later.
Cohen said he too did not know the policy had been cancelled until Rihanoff was stopped by police.
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“I 100 percent did not know that policy would be cancelled because the no claims information they’d been asking for wasn’t relevant to me,” Cohen told the court.
He added that he “wasn’t aware” of whether he had received another communication about the cancellation.
Cohen was also asked whether issues in their relationship had affected the couple’s finances. He said the pair’s co-owned Soo Yoga studio in Northampton had been damaged financially during the coronavirus pandemic.
He said: “We’re still living together. We’re in it financially. We’re in business together so the problem is that we opened the business before COVID and we got the worst severities of it and in all honestly this is just another problem for me to deal with…
“I’m so overdrawn.’I’ve got credit cards that are overdrawn. I’m overdrawn in both accounts. We have got a business debt because of COVID. It’s just another problem.”
Rihanoff was ordered to pay £357 in appeal costs and received six points on her licence.
The pair met on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013 and now share a daughter.