Even the toughest of stars have moments that shake them to their core. Shirley Ballas, the formidable Strictly Come Dancing head judge, has shared the personal experience that made her realise her relationship with former fiancé Danny Taylor “couldn’t go on.”
After six years together, Shirley announced their split last November, and now she’s opened up about the moment that sealed her decision.
The Birthday That Changed Everything
Shirley, 64, recalls being with her 87-year-old mother, Audrey, on her birthday when she received alarming news: Danny had gone missing.
“All those memories came flooding back… it triggered all these emotions,” Shirley told The Mirror, revealing how the incident brought back the trauma of losing her brother David to suicide in 2003.
She spent the following hours frantically contacting Danny’s friends and family, desperate to find him.
By 2 a.m., she noticed he had read her worried messages, yet by the next day, Danny reappeared and acted as if nothing had happened. That was the breaking point.
Realising It Was Time to Let Go
“It’s a day I’ll never forget,” Shirley admitted.
“I looked across the room in the middle of the night and saw my mother so upset, reliving all of her trauma.
I just thought, ‘This can’t go on.’ Not just for my sake, but for my mum too.”
It was a painful but necessary decision, showing Shirley that she could no longer allow someone to bring such anguish into her life.
A Life of Love, Loss, and Lessons
Shirley has described her love life as a “disaster” over the years, including two marriages and four engagements.
Speaking on the Great Company podcast with Jamie Laing earlier this year, she reflected on her recent breakup and what truly matters to her.
“What turns me off is a liar, somebody who says they’ll be there and isn’t.
But I am truly grateful for my mother, who lives with me, and for these precious moments with her,” she said.
She also expressed deep gratitude for her son Mark, 39, and her grandson, noting that life’s twists and turns brought her these enduring blessings. “Without the journey I took, I wouldn’t have him, and then I wouldn’t have my grandson.
So, it’s fate, if you want to, it’s directions that you choose.”
A Life Full of Drama and Dancing
Shirley’s love story has always been intertwined with dance.
She was first engaged at just 16 to her ballroom partner Nigel Tiffany, married dance partner Sammy Stopford at 19, and eventually tied the knot with Texan dancer Corky Ballas in 1985.
The couple welcomed son Mark a year later and split in 2007.
Her most recent engagement to Danny Taylor began in 2021 after meeting him in a panto in 2018.
Through every heartbreak, Shirley’s focus has remained on family, resilience, and the lessons learned along the way—proving that even in love’s chaos, there can be gratitude, growth, and hope.
