Dancing On Ice stars Karen Barber and Christopher Dean have confirmed they are in a relationship.
Speaking in this week’s Closer magazine, skating coach Karen admitted the pals have become more than just friends.
Karen, who recently had an on-screen spat with judge Jason Gardiner, said: “Chris and I are happy, but we’re taking things slowly. We found ourselves at the end of our marriages and a great friendship turned in to something else.”
The 49-year-old announced her separation from husband Stephen Pickavance a few weeks ago while Christopher, 52, split from his second wife, Jill Trenary, a year ago.
She confessed that newspaper stories claiming they were dating, published after she was pictured leaving his flat, actually helped the couple get together.
“Me and Chris have been friends for 30 years but all the talk in the papers made us think about each other differently,” she revealed.
“We came back to a new series this year and started talking about our relationship, so maybe it helped get things started!”
Karen has two daughters, Laura, 19, and Emma, 17, with fellow skating coach Stephen.
