Strictly’s Tasha Ghouri dated Giovanni Pernice and hopes to match Rose Ayling-Ellis
Love Island star Tasha Ghouri had a whirlwind romance with now ex-pro Giovanni Pernice and now she hopes to follow Rose Ayling-Ellis' footsteps.
Strictly Come Dancing contestant Tasha Ghouri enjoyed 'secret' dates with ex pro Giovanni Pernice.
The former Love Island star is taking to the Strictly ballroom on Saturday night as part of the class of 2024 series hopefuls who will be aiming to lift the coveted glitterball trophy.
Tasha will be hoping to follow in Rose Ayling-Ellis' footsteps as a hearing impaired winner of the series and both of them have a connection to now-ex pro Giovanni Pernice, who had won the show with Rose in 2021 but has now left the series following rows behind the scenes.
It was reported at the time that before she made her name on Love Island, the star, who was born deaf, enjoyed secret dates with Giovanni Pernice just month after he won the show with deaf dancer Rose Ayling-Ellis.
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The Italian stallion, then 31, and Love Island bombshell Tasha, then 23, followed each other on Instagram and messaged privately before eventually meeting in January of 2022.
Romantic Giovanni wined and dined Tasha, who contoversially for some Strictly fans does indeed have former dance experience and has performed with pop star MNEK onstage.
A source close to Tasha said: "Giovanni was persistent when it came to Tasha. They have a lot in common, both being dancers, and he had just learned a lot about the deaf community performing with Rose on Strictly, who Tasha really admires.
"Tasha was impressed by how gentlemanly he was, taking her out to top London restaurants and offering to send cars to collect her, but she's independent and always made her own way to see him."
"Their romance didn't progress because Giovanni was travelling a lot with the Strictly tour and Tasha was already involved with someone else."
The 26-year-old former Love Island star, renowned for being the first deaf contestant on the ITV2 romance series, has joined the 2024 celebrity roster for Strictly.
Her fame soared after her successful stint on Love Island, where she finished in a respectable fourth place alongside her then-beau Andrew Le Page.
Giovanni Pernice is not coming back to Strictly this year following a row behind the scenes over his training methods, but the dancer strongly refutes any wrongdoing.
Strictly Come Dancing kicks off at 7.20pm on BBC One tonight, Saturday September 14.
