Retired rugby international Ben Cohen has told a court that he is fighting to save his family home and his relationship with professional dancer Kristina Rihanoff after she was caught driving without insurance.
Rihanoff, a former Strictly Come Dancing star, was caught behind the wheel of her £30,000 72-plate Audi Q3 in Horsemarket on April 4.
Appearing at Northampton Crown Court on Friday under the name Kristina Pchenitchnykh, the Russian ballroom specialist sobbed throughout proceedings and at one point asked to leave the room because she ‘felt sick,’ reports the Northamptonshire Telegraph.
Mother-of-one Rihanoff, 46, had six points added to her license, but faced a potential driving ban after amassing 12 penalty points.
During Friday’s appeal, long-term partner Cohen – appearing as her witness – admitted to overlooking a text message from his insurance company prior to the incident.
Retired rugby international Ben Cohen told a court that he is fighting to save his family home and his relationship with professional dancer Kristina Rihanoff after she was caught driving without insurance
The couple are parents to daughter Milena, 8, who they welcomed in June 2016 (pictured together)
The ex-rugby player – grandson of late World Cup winning footballer George Cohen – admitted he was responsible for insuring both their vehicles, and had been looking for a cheaper deal from February after being given a £7,500 quote by Aviva.
He subsequently opted for a new policy with Dial Direct, to whom he was to make monthly debit payments, on February 22.
Addressing the overlooked text, Cohen admitted he was overseas when Dial Direct contacted him to warn his insurance would be cancelled unless he sent them his no claim details.
The retired Northampton and England Wing revealed he didn’t check the company guidelines, available on their website, and failed to respond because he didn’t have a no claims bonus, resulting in their policy being cancelled on March 7.
Unaware of the cancellation, Rihanoff was caught driving without insurance weeks later.
‘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.
Asked if he had received an additional email to inform him of the policy’s cancellation, he added: ‘I wasn’t aware.’
When asked by Rihanoff’s barrister, Michael Mulkerrins, if perceived difficulties in their relationship had affected their finances, Cohen, 45, admitted their co-owned Soo Yoga studio in Northampton had been damaged by the coronavirus pandemic.
Rihanoff, a former Strictly Come Dancing star, was caught behind the wheel of her 72-plate Audi Q3 in Horsemarket, Northampton, on April 4
Former rugby star Cohen fell in love with the Russian dancer after they were partnered up on the 11th series of Strictly in 2013, despite him being married at the time (pictured on the show)
He told the court: ‘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 get up every day and I fight not to lose everything – to lose my cars and my house and my relationship. 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.’
Cohen admitted he had even been driving his own vehicle, unaware that it was uninsured, before Rihanoff called to tell him she had been pulled over in Northampton town centre.
‘I didn’t know until I got that call from Kristina, then I was (saying) “what are you on about?”‘ he said.
Rihanoff was ordered to pay £357 in appeal costs and received six points on her licence.
She subsequently quit the show in 2015 when she fell pregnant with with their daughter Mila, now eight (pictured together in 2022)
Cohen fell in love with the Russian dancer after they were partnered on the 11th series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2013, despite him being married at the time.
She subsequently left the show in 2015 after falling pregnant with their daughter Mila, now eight.
Earlier last year, Cohen said his relationship with fiancée Kristina has been ‘strengthened’ by ‘difficult times in business’ ahead of their wedding.
He told HELLO! magazine: ‘Over the last nine years we’ve been through the wringer To support each other through difficult times in business is the ultimate test in a relationship.
‘I’ve watched her flourish, from her becoming a mum to growing as a businesswoman, and it has strengthened our bond.’
They told the magazine that they plan to make the big day a family affair with Mila and Ben’s twin daughters Harriette and Isabelle, 15, who he shares with his first wife Abby Blayney Cohen – serving as bridesmaids.
Rihanoff said: ‘Mila can’t wait, She’s already told me what she’s going to wear. ‘I want this kind of dress, Mummy, with a long train like you will have,’ she tells me. She certainly knows her own mind.’