Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas, 66, has been linked romantically to Italian dancer Giuseppe Nonnis, 36, after the pair were spotted on a dog walk together over the weekend, a report that left Nonnis's own mother "surprised" given the 30-year age gap between them.
Ballas and Nonnis appeared close during the outing, queuing for a cafe with his arm on her back, according to the Daily Mail.
Mother's surprise at the romance claims
Nonnis's mother, Franca Nonnis, 56, who is ten years younger than Ballas, spoke to the Daily Mail from her home in Cagliari, Sardinia. She said Shirley is teaching Giuseppe, calling her "an excellent teacher, one of the best," and describing her son as Ballas's student.
Franca said Giuseppe had recently ended a long relationship and was left "heartbroken," adding: "That's why I would be surprised if he was already in another relationship but if he is happy then I am happy. I just don't think he's ready yet for another relationship."
She said her son was "a very loveable and sociable person" who is "sweet with everyone," and suggested any closeness with Ballas was likely just friendship. She noted that Ballas had visited Giuseppe's studio in Hong Kong over the summer, and that he travels constantly between Hong Kong and Europe. "He's lived abroad for more than 12 years so I don't see him very often unless he is in Europe visiting," she said.
Split from Daria Chesnokova
The relationship that left Giuseppe "heartbroken" was with Ukrainian dancer Daria Chesnokova, whom he had described as his "life partner." The couple ended their five-year relationship last September.
Franca said her son had "not mentioned a relationship" with anyone, and stressed how recent the split was. "He was heartbroken, they had been together for a long time... these longtime affairs of the heart take a long time to get over when they end," she said.
Nonnis and Chesnokova began dancing together in June 2021, first competing in Blackpool that August before touring internationally. Last March, Giuseppe wrote a Women's Day tribute to her on social media, calling her "MY Woman" and thanking her for "teaching me resilience, to never give up." A year earlier he had called their relationship "the best four years of my life."
Chesnokova announced their split by writing: "After five unforgettable years, my partnership with Giuseppe has come to an end," adding she was "deeply grateful for all we shared." Giuseppe said afterwards that "it's never easy to close a chapter that's meant so much to me."
Growing closeness with Shirley Ballas
Despite his mother's doubts, Giuseppe is understood to have grown increasingly close to Ballas since the split. He has said he looked up to her since he was a small child, and the pair have danced together in Hong Kong and at the Blackpool Dance Festival this year.
They performed together during the "We've Danced Through The Century" lectures in Blackpool in May, and were paired again at the Dorin & Marina Hong Kong "The Camp Cha Cha" lecture in July. Afterwards Giuseppe wrote to her: "Dear Shirley. The gratitude is all mine, from a small child, looking up to you as one of my favourite dancers of all time to partnering you is for me a huge honour." Ballas replied: "You're most welcome. So lovely to dance with, and patient during practice lol. Thank you and with gratitude."
This month Giuseppe attended Ballas's birthday party at Mamma Mia! The Party at the O2 in London, and was later seen driving her Porsche. The pair have also exchanged fond messages on social media.
Ballas's relationship history
Ballas has been single since 2024, when she split from her fiancé Danny Taylor, 53, after six years together. Her son Mark is just four years older than Giuseppe. Before Taylor, she was married twice, first to fellow professional dancer Sammy Stopford when she was 19, a marriage that lasted four years, and then to Texan dancer Corky Ballas, whom she married in 1985. The couple had son Mark the following year, won several major dance championships together, and split in 2007.
Ballas has previously spoken candidly about her romantic life, saying: "Every relationship has ended up being a disaster. I'm obsessed with what I am and with what I do... I don't think I'm put on planet Earth to have a relationship." In April she said she had no interest in dating after Taylor did "quite unforgivable things," explaining that his tendency to disappear revived painful memories of her brother David, who died by suicide aged 44 in 2003. "I was always frightened he was going to take his own life. He was disappearing all the time," she said.
Giuseppe's dance career
Nonnis grew up in Cagliari with two sisters and began dancing at seven, choosing it over football because he found it "more glamorous." He became Italian champion and reached the world championship finals at youth level. He has lived in Hong Kong since 2014, teaching across Asia.
Preparing for a new Strictly series
Ballas joined Strictly Come Dancing as head judge in 2017 and is preparing to enter her tenth series on the panel. She has undergone a non-surgical facelift ahead of the new series, having six NeoGen nitrogen plasma sessions this year with Dr Maude Calveley at the Ouronyx clinic in central London, her fifth year of the treatment. Dr Johanna Ward carried out some lower-energy treatments earlier in the year.
Ballas said she feels more confident than ever, saying: "I look better now than I did 10 years ago." Recalling photographs from 2017, she said: "I was quite embarrassed... I had sagging jowls, multiple lines and wrinkles plus lots of little age spots." She said she had faced trolling over her appearance, with comments such as "you've got bingo wings" and "your hair looks thin," but added: "I'm going into this next series looking better than when I started and I can honestly say this is the most confident I've ever felt going into a new series."
