Fleur reached the Strictly finals in 2022

Singer Fleur East has revealed how Strictly helped strengthen her marriage to her husband, Marcel Badiane-Robin.

Since 2010, the Sax hitmaker has been in a relationship with the French celebrity fashion designer. After nearly a decade together, they finally tied the knot in a Moroccan wedding.

In March 2024, the couple welcomed their first child, a baby girl named Nova.


Fleur competed on Strictly in 2022 (Credit: Splashnews.com)

Fleur East talks infamous Strictly curse

In 2022, Fleur competed on the 20th series of Strictly alongside Vito Coppola. They finished as runners-up.

Since finding success on the hit BBC show, Fleur replaced Rylan Clark as the co-host of the spin-off show It Takes Two alongside Janette Manrara.

As the 2025 series quickly creeps up, Fleur offered some advice for contestants in a relationship who will be taking part.

“The way to avoid the Strictly curse is to stay attached to whatever your reality is,” she told OK!

“Because with all these shows — Strictly, the jungle and so on — it’s really intense and it’s like a bubble and it’s easy to think, ‘Oh, this is my life.’ But it’s not real. When I was on Strictly my husband and sister came to every single live show for three months, they were the two in the audience, every single night.”


Fleur married husband Marcel in 2019 (Credit: Splashnews.com)

‘Strictly put the spark back into our relationship’

The former X Factor contestant explained how the show helped strengthen their marriage.

“Strictly put the spark back into our relationship because you’re feeling really fit and your partner’s watching you perform at the weekend and because of the amazing wardrobe and make-up team, you’re looking amazing. It makes you fall in love with each other again because there’s an element of when you’re seeing your partner excelling at something they do, you go, ‘Oh yeah, that’s my partner,’ and it makes you proud of them,” she said.

Fleur further explained that she supports her fashion-designing husband by often wearing his clothes on the red carpet. She said it is “really important to involve my family in my journey”.