BEN Cohen and Strictly star Kristina Rihanoff are still trying to sell their £1.75millon house, after revealing they had called time on their romance.
The couple shocked fans this week when they announced they were splitting, after 12 years together.
The former couple’s home is in Sywell is now up for sale[/caption]
They bought their Northamptonshire home in 2016[/caption]
Ben and Kristina laid bare their financial woes recently[/caption]
Ben and Kristina met after being paired with her on Strictly in 2013[/caption]
The pair met when they were partnered together on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013 – with Ben being married to wife Abby at the time.
Despite the controversy, the pair remained strong for over a decade, before revealing their marriage was in trouble last year.
They also said they were suffering from crippling debt, and put their beloved house on the market.
Their family home in Sywell was put up for sale last September.
In the estate agent’s listing, it’s been described as a “superb family home offering spacious and versatile living accommodation” on RightMove.
The couple bought their Northamptonshire home in 2016.
The luxury home boasts a huge garden, which has it’s own zipline.
The house also has it’s own gym, and comes complete with a huge kitchen for entertaining.
The former couple will now be hoping to sell the property quick, after revealing they had broken up.
CRIPPLING DEBT
Before their split the couple had been honest about their financial problems.
Kristina and Ben later went into business together, with the pro dancer also working as a dance instructor.
Kristina said the pair had “invested everything we’ve ever had” into their company Soo Yoga, after turning her passion for the exercise into a business.
However after the pandemic hit, they ran into serious trouble.
Their financial difficulties were laid bare in public during a court appearance last September, when Kristina was caught driving her £30,000 Audi without insurance.
Kristina sobbed as Ben took to the stand and admitted human error on his part meant Kristina had been driving without insurance – meaning she was facing a driving ban which would be financially devastating for her business as a dance instructor.
The very spacious property is sat on a plot of 1.73acres of land and also boasts an “impressive kitchen breakfast/family living area”[/caption]
Ben in the family kitchen[/caption]
Ben, 46, and Kristina, 47, have an eight-year-old daughter[/caption]
As Ben spoke to the court, he revealed the pair were fighting to save their 12-year relationship, admitting he was crippled with debts from their businesses, including their joint yoga venture.
Paperwork reveals that debts accrued by their companies added up to £1million.
Their Soo Yoga Group ran up debts of £488,470 and another of their fitness firms – Yoga Wellbeing Limited – had debts of £63,000.
Their business Soo Greens Limited also racked up £54,000 of debts and fitness company Beyond Wellbeing was dissolved in 2022 with debts of £22,000.
Their financial difficulties were made public last year[/caption]
Ben also quit as a company director of struggling web firm Silicon Networks in 2020 and the company is now in liquidation with debts of £275,000, including a £98,000 tax bill owed to HMRC.
Speaking in court last year, Ben became emotional as he spoke about the realities of the financial crisis they were facing.
He said: “I get up every day and I fight not to lose everything – to lose my cars and my house and my relationship. I’m so overdrawn.”
When asked about the strain it had put on their relationship, Ben said: “We’re still living together. We’re in it financially.
“We’re in business together so the problem is that we opened the business before Covid and we got the worst severities of it and in all honestly this is just another problem for me to deal with.
“I’ve got credit cards that are overdrawn. I’m overdrawn in both accounts. We have got a business debt because of Covid. It’s just another problem.”
Following the court case, where Kristina was spared a driving ban due to “exceptional hardship”, the pair put their Northamptonshire home up for sale.
THE BREAK UP
This week a pair revealed they had split and are trying to move on with their lives.
“There is only so much one couple can take,” a friend explained.
“The financial problems Kristina and Ben were facing pushed them to the brink and it has been incredibly stressful for them.
“This was what properly broke them and ended the relationship.
“But their union hasn’t always been a bed of roses because of how they got together.
“With the amount of public jibes sent in their direction, their friends have commented that they think it’s amazing their relationship lasted for as long as it did.”
BEN COHEN AND KRISTINA RHIANOFF’S ROCKY RELATIONSHIP
The couple had met when they were partnered for the 11th series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2013, and fell in love.
This was despite Cohen being married at the time to Abby Bray.
Cohen and Rihanoff share daughter Mila, and had planned to tie the knot in Tuscany or Oxfordshire.
He told Hello! Magazine in 2023: “Over the last nine years we’ve been through the wringer.
“To support each other through difficult times in business is the ultimate test in a relationship.
“I’ve watched her flourish, from her becoming a mum to growing as a businesswoman, and it has strengthened our bond.”
The pair previously revealed they got engaged during a sun-soaked Maldives getaway in 2022.
