More than a year after her break-up, Shirley Ballas said she is open to love, but there are some important things she looks for in a man – and she won’t compromise on them
Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas has revealed she is ready to date again – but said she is now “very careful” when it comes to relationships, and there are some important requirements she is looking for in a man.
The 65-year-old dancer, who has focused on looking after her 88-year-old mother, Audrey, since splitting up from her partner, Danny Taylor, 52, just over a year ago, said she is open to love. However, she wants to ensure that a potential new partner possesses characteristics such as humour, intellect, and generosity.
Shirley admitted: “I may have had a date or two. I know my truth. I know my authentic self, and if I want to go out on a date, I will go. Nothing serious. No labels, no tags.”
READ MORE: Strictly’s Shirley Ballas speaks out on split from ex boyfriend with blunt message
Talking to the Daily Mail, the Strictly judge continued: “I’ve met several nice people over the years. If somebody asks me out and I like them, I go. If I don’t, I don’t bother. I am very careful, though, when I do go out with someone. I will have known them for a while.”
Revealing what she is looking for in a man, Shirley said: “Humour. I like somebody with some intellect. Generosity, too. I’ve always been that person that pays for everybody, so it’s actually quite nice when they say, ‘No, I’ve got this.’ I think, ‘Oh, this is nice.’ Somebody who’s smart, well-kept, takes care of themselves. I like that kind of guy.”
Shirley and Danny called time on their relationship in November 2024, three years after announcing their engagement. The former couple first met in 2018 when they were starring in pantomime in Jack and the Beanstalk. Their love developed as Danny was also a trained ballroom dancer but also tried his hand at acting, starring in soaps including Brookside and The Bill.
Speaking about their romance, Shirley, who replaced the late Len Goodman on the BBC dance show, previously said: “We met on panto as friends. It didn’t really take off until March… for him. I fell in love way before… I think for me it was [at] first sight. He was going through a difficult time in his relationship. We did become friends and then probably in about February I said, ‘I love you Danny’ and he said, ‘I know’. It took a while.”
In an exclusive interview with The Mirror in August 2025, Shirley opened up on her relationship and said they weren’t growing together anymore” and said she showered him with gifts “thinking that’s how I should show him I loved him.” She told us: “We weren’t growing together anymore, and I was getting more and more worried about things that were going on in his life, and I already have a lot of things to worry about. I just needed some peace.”
Before her relationship with Danny, Shirley was married twice. She tied the knot with her dance partner Sammy Stopford in 1980 but divorced after four years. Then there was a fiery marriage to another dancer Corky Ballas with whom she has a son, Mark.
It ended in 2007 amid allegations of infidelity. At 16, she was also briefly engaged to her first dance partner, Nigel Tiffany, who she remains friends with to this day.
Source: Mirror
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