Who Was Karen Hauer Married To

If you’ve ever found yourself yelling at the telly during Strictly Come Dancing, wondering who that fabulous, tattooed, and fiercely talented dancer is, you’re not alone. That’s Karen Hauer, the Venezuelan-American dynamo who has graced our living rooms since 2012. But while we’ve watched her twirl celebrities into submission, we’ve also watched her love life play out like a waltz that occasionally steps on its own toes.

So, who was Karen Hauer married to? Well, grab a cuppa, because the story is less fairy-tale waltz and more a series of Tango dances with unexpected pauses. It’s the kind of romance that reminds you that even professional dancers sometimes stumble when the music stops.

The First Dance: Kevin Clifton

You might remember Karen’s first big headline: Kevin Clifton. Yes, that Kevin Clifton—the one from Grimsby with the hair and the pensioner-themed dance routines. They met on the Burn the Floor tour, a stage show where the chemistry was apparently so hot it melted the stage lights. They married in 2000, long before either of them knew they’d be national treasures.

Here’s the funny part: imagine marrying your work crush. You know, that colleague you can’t stop laughing with during coffee breaks? Yeah, that. They were a pro dance couple, so their entire life was a montage of sequins and lifts. For a decade, they dominated the ballroom scene, even winning World Latin Champions together. It was all glitter and glory, until it wasn’t.

By the time Strictly rolled around in 2012, the marriage was already running on fumes. They announced their split in 2013, and I like to imagine them having that conversation backstage, still in dance shoes, thinking, “Wow, this partnership is really off-beat.” It was a friendly divorce, though. They remained mates, which is more than I can say for my last break-up with a favourite coffee shop that burned my latte twice.

Life After Kevin: A Little Bit of Normal

Post-Kevin, Karen did something surprisingly relatable: she dated a non-dancer. In 2014, she started seeing a guy named Matthew Lehane, who worked in the music industry. It was a breath of fresh air—like ordering a plain pizza after a week of experimental fusion cuisine. They seemed happy, but it fizzled out quietly, without any headlines. Honestly, that’s the kind of relationship most of us have: nice, but eventually you realise you prefer watching reality TV alone in your pyjamas.

Then came the second husband. In 2018, Karen married Jordan Wyn-Jones, a model and actor. Now, if Kevin was the loving dance partner, Jordan was the Instagram-worthy sprint. They met in a bar, got engaged in just a few months, and married in a tiny ceremony in 2018. It was the kind of whirlwind romance that would make a rom-com screenwriter roll their eyes. But Karen was glowing, and we all thought, “Ah, finally! She’s found her forever partner.”

Guess what? It lasted under a year. In 2019, they split. Why? Who knows. Probably the same reason my attempts at sourdough bread fizzled: too much pressure, not enough patience. They didn’t throw shade, though. Karen just said, “It didn’t work out,” which is code for, “We loved each other, but not enough to survive a shared Netflix password.”

The Pattern of a Pro

So what’s the takeaway here? Karen Hauer married Kevin Clifton for a dance connection, and then Jordan Wyn-Jones for a lightning-in-a-bottle moment. She’s a woman who commits fully to the beat of her own drum, even if that drum sometimes changes tempo mid-song. She’s like that friend who buys a house, redecorates it, and then sells it six months later because she found a better view. It’s exhausting to watch, but also strangely inspiring.

And let’s be honest: most of us have a Karen in our lives. The person who falls in love like it’s a cha-cha—fast, passionate, and slightly chaotic. We’ve all had that relationship where you thought, “This is it,” only to find yourself Googling “how to survive a break-up” three months later. Karen just did it with better hair and a following of eight million people.

Now, as of 2024, Karen is single. She’s been dating a bit, but she’s mostly focused on her work, her dogs, and her hilarious Instagram stories about burning toast. She’s proof that life, like a Latin dance, isn’t about the perfect routine; it’s about the joy you have while you’re making mistakes and laughing them off. So next time you see a picture of her looking fabulously alone, remember: she’s still dancing to her own soundtrack. And honestly? That’s a kind of happy I think we all could use.