Ben Cohen reveals Kristina Rihanoff won his heart by 'squeezing his hand' during Strictly

The Rugby giant - who split from his wife Abby Cohen last October – confirmed his relationship with the Strictly Come Dancing star back in July.

Since then, the couple have remained relatively tight-lipped after facing a public backlash over their romance which has left his scorned wife fuming.

Now, the 37-year-old has revealed that Kristina won his heart by "squeezing his hand" in a bid to make him a better dancer. 

The athlete admitted that he probably wasn't the best candidate for the BBC ballroom show because he's almost completely deaf so in turn the couple came up with a novel way to help him get his groove. 

“You should never do a dance show if you can’t hear the music. It is a bit of stumbling block," Ben said.

"I was with Kristina in the first training session, we’d dance, we’d take a step to every beat of the music and she asked if I could hear the beat, I said nah I can’t really hear the beat , I’m deaf. She rushed out and said ‘oh f***’.

“I had to turn the show down for a couple of years but I said look I did it for the Foundation to raise money and give money away and raise awareness of the Foundation.