EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS
NEIL JONES
TALKING FROM THE HEART, ‘STRICTLY’ STAR ON FALLING IN LOVE, LUISA, AND LEARNING TO TAKE THINGS SLOWER
INTERVIEW: LAURA BENJAMIN PHOTOS: DAVID VENNI
(LEFT) NEIL’S SUIT: GIEVES & HAWKES. SHIRT & SHOES: HAWES & CURTIS. BOW TIE: REISS. LUISA’S GOWN: ATELIER ZUHRA. EARRINGS: LARA HEEMS JEWELLERY. (RIGHT) SHIRT: REISS
Neil Jones’s support for his Colombian girlfriend Luisa Eusse over the past few months never wavered, even when they both became the target of speculation about the veracity of their love.
Now, the Strictly Come Dancing professional has opened up about their relationship for their first photoshoot together, revealing how they have decided to live apart so they can rekindle their feelings for one another.
“We need to take it back to the beginning, where we can start to get to know each other and actually go on dates when lockdown allows. That is something we haven’t been able to do,” says Neil, 38.
Admitting their relationship had moved very fast – he asked 24-year-old Luisa to move in with him only two weeks after first meeting in the summer – Neil says they both hope that by slowing the pace, they can have a stronger future together.
“It wasn’t the ideal way to form a relationship so quickly,” he tells us. “Normally you’d have time to go on dates, meet up with each other and it would build over time. We were just going with the flow.