Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas has previously spoken out about why she kept her ex-husband's surname after their split.
Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas has candidly shared why she decided to retain her ex-husband Corky Ballas's surname post-divorce. The 64-year-old TV legend was married to fellow dancer Corky from 1985 until they split in 2007. In an intimate heart-to-heart on Anna Richardson's podcast 'It Can't Just Be Me?', Shirley unpacked the complexities of her 22-year marriage's collapse. Delving into the details following a question posted by a listener, Shirley imparted some of the harder learned lessons from her past.
During the discussion, she said, "I kept Ballas because my son was born out of love. And then it became Mark Ballas, Shirley Ballas, and Corky Ballas. It wasn't until later, when the relationship fell apart, that Corky would be at a competition, and he would refuse to announce me with my surname."
She recounted the painful experiences following their separation, explaining, "So, he would say 'From the United Kingdom...Shirley'. But my name is Shirley Ballas, and that's what we did when we got married. I took his name—the same name as my son. We'd been married for 22 years—my little boy was Mark Ballas. I didn't want to go under Shirley Ritch, my maiden name. I wanted to have the same name as my son."
Aside from her famous partnership with Corky, Ballas also married dancer Sammy Stopford when she was just a teenager. However, her enduring bond with her son influenced her decision to maintain the Ballas surname.
Shirley has previously spoken about her decision to move to the US with Corky, only to later realise she had "made a mistake". Recalling the experience, she said: "I ran off with Corky Ballas to America. I was there for three months, decided I had made a mistake, called Sammy [Stopford] and said, 'Can I come back?' and he said 'No'."
She then went on to reveal how she taught Corky to dance "from scratch" before the pair won a dance competition together. Shirley explained: "And then I decided I was going to do everything I could to get back into that top six, whatever it took."
