Strictly Come Dancing star Kevin Clifton spent Christmas Day with sister after wife Karen reportedly jetted to the United States with their children.
New York born Karen, 35, is understood to be back in her native US amid claims their two-year marriage is under increasing strain following her alleged affair with accountant Stuart Wood and Kevin’s growing friendship with his former Strictly dance partner, Louise Redknapp.
And ballroom dancer Joanne Clifton has revealed her 35-year old brother celebrated Christmas with her in a new social media post, shared on Tuesday.
Quality time: Ballroom dancer Joanne Clifton has revealed her brother Kevin celebrated Christmas with her in a new social media post, days after his wife Karen jetted back to the United States
Joanne, 34, a Strictly Come Dancing winner with Ore Oduba in 2016, shared a living room selfie capturing Kevin in the background as he relaxed in front of the television.
Captioning the image, she wrote: ‘I’m the best sister ever.’
The post comes after Karen was seen larking around with her nieces in a series of Instagram snaps – although she still sported her wedding ring in one image.
Claims: Kevin’s marriage to Karen is said to be under increasing strain following her alleged affair with accountant Stuart Wood and Kevin’s growing friendship with his former Strictly dance partner, Louise Redknapp
Playing around in the sweet snaps, posted just five days before Christmas, she appeared to be ready for a festive season without her husband.
A source told The Sun: ‘Karen will fly to New York and spend it with her family while Kevin plans to travel up to Grimsby to be with his. Right now they are just trying to get through the last two weeks of Strictly and then need some space.
‘They will get back together after Christmas and decide what they are going to do. Right now their marriage hangs in the balance and their future together as a couple looks very uncertain.’
Happy days: Karen has reportedly jetted to America to spend Christmas with her family shortly after her husband Kevin was seen spending time with Louise Redknapp
Downtime: The 35-year-old professional dancer was seen larking around with her nieces in a series of sweet Instagram snaps as she prepares to spend her first Christmas away from her husband in their two years of marriage
Kevin and Karen married in an idyllic ceremony in July 2015, with a bevy of superstar guests however earlier this year they were first hit with reports of strife.
Speaking about his wife after their wedding, Kevin said: ‘We have such a good laugh together all the time. My life wouldn’t be what it is today if it wasn’t for Karen. She’s perfect. She’s always been my best friend.’
Karen is said to have become embroiled in an affair with accountant Stuart Wood however the couple are said to have split at the end of last month.
Insiders told The Sun: ‘It was never a long term thing and Karen realises that she made a mistake. She ended things with Stuart shortly after the news broke. He is heartbroken as he thought they had a future together’.
Happier days: The couple married in an idyllic ceremony in July 2015, with a bevy of superstar guests however earlier this year they were first hit with reports of strife
Taking a little break: The stunning star is said to be unwinding away from her love woes
Louise, who announced her split from Jamie in September, was seen out with the dancer following claims Karen allegedly warned Jamie to keep his wife away from him.
Joined by pals, the group seemed laid-back as they sipped wine and chatted away in a London bar on Monday evening, appearing totally at ease together having formed a close friendship during their stint on last year’s Strictly.
Karen allegedly warned Jamie to keep his wife away from her husband when the footballer rang her with concerns of an affair. She reportedly told Jamie to ‘keep his wife Louise away from her husband Kevin’ during a heated phone call.
Warning: They claim the Strictly Come Dancing professional, 35, had been ‘very upset’ at the time of the call and had told Jamie to ‘try and keep Louise’ away from Kevin, accusing the singer of ‘ruining’ her marriage
Over? ‘They will get back together after Christmas and decide what they are going to do. Right now their marriage hangs in the balance and their future together as a couple looks very uncertain’
Despite the claims, Louise and Kevin looked unfazed as they headed out with pals – with him going low-key in a baker boy cap and she, looking stylish in a leather jacket with her hair and make-up minimal and pared-back.
They claim the Strictly Come Dancing professional, 35, had been ‘very upset’ at the time of the call and had told Jamie to ‘try and keep Louise’ away from Kevin, accusing the singer of ‘ruining’ her marriage.
After becoming aware of Louise ‘texting’ Kevin, Jamie reportedly decided to reach out to Karen, with the source claiming: ‘He made the decision to call Karen without Louise’s knowledge, which was a very hard thing for him to do.
‘He asked Karen if he thought their partners were having an affair. Karen was very upset at the time and that’s when she asked Jamie to try and keep Louise away from Kevin.’
The source added that ’emotions had been running high’, while another source deemed close to Louise claimed the Naked singer had been left ‘furious’ by husband Jamie’s actions, as she had been friends with Karen and the accusations had made things between them ‘unnecessarily uncomfortable’.
On Thursday, fellow Strictly professional Janette Manrara tried to make Kevin laugh by tagging him in a humorous giff on Instagram.
Appearing to poke fun at his ballroom skills, she reposted a short video of a bird hanging upside down from a washing line, with the suggestion to: ‘Tag that one weird friend.’
Dubbed over the top with a funny conversation, one bird says to the other, ‘Kevin, wtf are you doing? You’re so embarrassing. Are you drunk? Let’s go home.’
‘That one weird friend’: Fellow Strictly professional Janette Manrara made a light-hearted joke about her pal on Thursday, when she shared a comical giff to Instagram
Tag a friend: Janette tagged dancer Kevin, in an attempt to make him laugh