Snuggling up in bed after spending 77 days apart, Strictly Come Dancing professionals Janette Manrara and Aljaz Skorjanec are savouring the chance to finally be back together under the same roof. The married couple, who had to live separately during the latest series, are still on a high following an emotional reunion days before Christmas and are looking forward to spending a lot more time together in 2021.
Not only has their enforced separation brought them closer than ever and rekindled their romance, it has also helped them reach an important decision about their future.
“We always wanted to have a baby, but 2020 has definitely made me say to myself: ‘You know what, Janette, it’s never going to be the perfect time but it’s always going to be the right time,’” Janette tells us as she and Aljaz join HELLO! for this exclusive interview and photoshoot. “As a woman who’s a dancer, my body is my job so it’s scary to make that decision about the perfect time to start a family. I always thought there would be a perfect month and year, but what 2020 has made me realise is that perfect time is never going to come along. We’re definitely ready to be parents so we will see when that moment comes - you can’t plan it. We will be beside ourselves and Aljaz will be the best dad. He is such a wonderful man and I’m so lucky to have him.”
TWO STEP
Janette, 37, has been making the most of being back home with her husband after a rollercoaster year that saw her reach the Strictly final for the first time with her partner, singer and social media star HRVY. In line with the show’s Covid regulations, Janette moved out of the North London home she shares with Aljaz two weeks before the series started and into a BBC flat close to Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, so she could form a bubble with HRVY. Meanwhile, Aljaz stayed home alone, meeting his partner, BBC Radio 1 DJ Clara Amfo, for rehearsals each day.
Janette and Aljaz - Strictly’s only married couple - kept in touch on FaceTime, swapping tips about dance routines and saying goodnight to each other at bedtime. On the Strictly set, they had to keep at least two metres apart and Aljaz says he became HRVY and Janette’s “number one fan” after he and Clara were voted off.