Throughout the show’s history, the Strictly curse has brought couples together and torn them apart, although one pair who met on the BBC series are still going strong after almost eight years.
And now, power couple Dianne Buswell and Joe Sugg have welcomed their first baby, a son, Bowden Mark Richard Sugg, on March 16, as they announced to overjoyed fans on Wednesday night.
The Australian pro, 36, and YouTube star, 34, announced they were expecting their first baby together in September 2025, just before Dianne embarked on a new season of Strictly with partner Stefan Dennis.
Naturally, fans are beside themselves with excitement for the new parents, quickly flooding the comments with congratulatory wishes.
The fan-favourite TV dancer Dianne joined Strictly in 2017 and was paired with Joe the next year. She would go on to lift the Glitter Ball with Chris McCausland in 2024.
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The rest, as they say, is history—albeit a rather interesting one.
When they met, Dianne was dating soap star Anthony Quinlan, who had appeared in Hollyoaks and Emmerdale.
A few months after they separated, Dianne and Joe went public and, in the years since, have shared an insight into their romance with their combined millions of followers on both Instagram and YouTube.
Now, as the pair bring a little one to the household, let’s take a look back at their romance.
When signing up for Strictly, Joe made history as the first YouTuber to take part, competing on the 16th series.
Making it all the way to the finale, their highest-scoring performance was in week 9 when they danced the quickstep to Dancing Fool and scored 38.
In the final, they performed a paso doble to Pompeii and danced to I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, both of which scored a nearly perfect 39.
When did Dianne Buswell and Joe Sugg meet?
While they didn’t clinch the win (Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton, funnily enough, another real-life couple, lifted the trophy), Dianne and Joe confirmed their relationship on social media soon after the finale in a now-famous post.
Sharing a photo of the two gazing into one another’s eyes, Joe wrote: ‘I may not have won the glitter ball, but I’ve won something a million times more special.’
The post sent Joe’s 5.7million followers into meltdown as they flocked to his comments section, demanding to know if he was confirming a romance after weeks of speculation.
His famous sibling and fellow vlogger Zoe responded with a series of rejoicing hands emojis, the secret finally out.
Before the announcement, Dianne’s ex, Anthony, had denied they’d ended things because of the Strictly curse and insisted they were still ‘good friends’.
At the time, he said ‘distance played a part’ in them breaking up, and there were ‘all these rumours about the Strictly curse, but it wasn’t that’.
‘I’m actually rooting for Joe and Dianne. They’re doing absolutely amazing in Strictly, and I still think the world of the girl. We were really close; it just wasn’t meant to be,’ he said ahead of the finale.
How long have Dianne Buswell and Joe Sugg been together and are they married?
After first meeting in 2018 and starting to date a few months later, Dianne and Joe are still together over seven years on, although no wedding bells just yet.
They regularly share loved-up snaps together on days out, trips abroad, and celebrating holidays, whether it be in the UK or visiting Dianne’s family Down Under.
They also regularly spend time with Joe’s sister, her fiancé, Alfie Deyes, plus their two little girls.
At the end of 2021, the couple purchased their first home, with Dianne saying they were ready to have ‘new adventures’ together.
The same year, she said they didn’t have any plans to get married yet and were instead going to ‘play it by ear’.
‘I plan my work a lot, but that’s probably as far as I go with planning. I’m quite an unorganised person actually,’ she confessed.
‘Joe and I don’t really talk about that kind of thing. We’re both so relaxed, so we just play it by ear.
‘We really enjoy each other’s company so much, and whatever happens, happens.’
However, she did later say it was their ‘dream’ to have a family together one day.
While Dianne and Joe regularly give fans an insight into their personal lives, he admitted a few years ago that there were some parts of their relationship they liked to keep private.
‘In terms of, like, our relationship, we’re both very much on the same page about what we do and don’t share,’ he told Metro.
‘Obviously, you kind of want to share everything because it’s essentially what your job is; you’ve got that obligation to show your audience and be upfront about everything, but also we’ve got an amazing audience that understand there are certain things that we want to keep to ourselves.’
Over the years, the couple have also documented some difficult moments, including Dianne being unable to visit her family during the pandemic.
In 2020, she had been due to fly home, but travel restrictions meant she had to cancel her plans.
She wrote alongside a photo of her and Joe cuddling under their Christmas tree that it was ‘sad and frustrating’, but the ‘silver lining’ was that she got to ‘stay and annoy’ her boyfriend a little longer than planned’.
Strictly stars reaction to Joe and Dianne’s baby news
Dianne and Joe became mum and dad earlier this week, having announced just days before Strictly’s 2025 launch that she is pregnant.
In a clip shared on Insta, the flame-haired choreographer and her influencer boyfriend could be seen larking around with a painting before turning it around to reveal the title ‘2026’ alongside three stick people representing both them and their child.
Also confirming the baby’s sex, they wrote in the caption: ‘Our little baby boy ❤️ we cannot wait to meet you’.
Well, now the wait is over as they take baby Bowden home (with Dianne clarifying on her Instagram story that the name was pronounced ‘Bow’ like ‘how’ and not ‘row’.
It didn’t take long for co-stars, friends and family to flock to the comments.
‘He’s amazing. Sending so much love to the three of you,’ Former Strictly host Claudia Winkleman posted.
‘CUTIEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!! Excellent news guys!!!!!!!! Sending lots of love to all!!!!!!!!!’ YouTuber Rose Ellen Dix wrote.
‘Congratulations, guys all the best. Now is the beginning of something very special,’ judge Motsi Mabuse shared.
‘Oh Finally, bello di zio. I am so so happy, crying for joy and happiness. Uncle Vito cannot wait to meet you. Love love love. Bellissimo a zi,’ close friend and Strictly star Vito Coppala added with a variety of emojis.
‘Congratulations that’s so so amazing. That’s the best and most special thing in the world. Love love love to you!!!’ another co-star Nikita_Kuzmin declared.
‘Congratulations !! So beautiful,’ Karen Hauer shared.
A version of this article was first published on September 14, 2025.
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