Gorka Marquez has admitted he considered quitting Strictly Come Dancing because he missed time with his newborn son Thiago.
The 33-year-old professional dancer gave birth to his second child Thiago, now two months old, with partner Gemma Atkinson in July.
But just days after his son’s birth, Gorka had to leave his family in Manchester and travel to London to begin rehearsals for the upcoming series of Strictly in 2023.
On Wednesday night’s episode of her reality show Gemma and Gorka: Life Behind the Lens, Gorka told how he thought about leaving Strictly to be with his family.
In scenes filmed before Thiago was born, an upset Gorka admitted he was heartbroken because he had to leave Gemma and their newborn baby behind to go to rehearsals.
Family man: Gorka Marquez has admitted he considered quitting Strictly Come Dancing because he missed time with his newborn son Thiago
Work: Just days after his son was born in July, Gorka had to leave his family in Manchester to travel to London and begin rehearsals for the 2023 series of Strictly (pictured in December).
“It’s pretty heartbreaking to have to leave and not be home a few days after giving birth to Gemma,” he admitted.
“In my head I’m thinking I want to quit and just stay home for the next three months, but at the same time I have to do my job and work.”
Gorka also told how he missed his first few days with his four-year-old daughter Mia because Strictly rehearsals clashed with the birth of his first child.
Earlier in the episode, Gorka admitted he was afraid of missing the birth of their son Thiago as Gemma remained pregnant just twelve days before his departure.
“I really don’t want to miss the birth of my son, so I’m on a mission to speed things up,” Gorka said before heading to the stores to buy food to speed up labor, including pineapples and dates.
Luckily, Gemma went into labor just four days later and Gorka was able to attend Thiago’s birth via caesarean section after a 28-hour labor.
After a lovely few days as a family, Gemma burst into tears when emotional Gorka had to go to London for five days of Strictly rehearsals.
Gemma admitted: “Usually I’m fine with him going away and this time I’ll be fine too, but I feel even more sorry for Mia now because she misses him so much.”
Big decisions: On Wednesday night’s episode of their reality show Gemma and Gorka: Life Behind the Lens, Gorka told how he thought about leaving Strictly to be with his family
Sweet: The 33-year-old professional dancer gave birth to his second child Thiago, now two months old, with his partner Gemma Atkinson in July. They also have a daughter Mia, four
“I always say to him, ‘She’s fine, she’s fine,’ but sometimes she cries for him and stuff, but I don’t tell him because I don’t want him to get distracted at work, he will don’t change anything.”
“So we do the whole ‘everything’s fine’ thing and then when he looks away, I leave.” [fakes crying].’
Gorka filmed himself from the car and said: I’m leaving now, everything packed, bags and luggage and everything. “Come on, Gorka, don’t be so sad, let’s go.”
After waving to her partner, Gemma burst into tears while filming herself, but said she knows Gorka has bigger problems leaving her than she does.
She said, “That’s him, five days, five days.” I always like to joke with Gorks because I know it’s harder for him. Just hormones. “Mia bless her, she will miss him very much, but that is the reality for so many families.”
Gorka and Gemma fell in love after meeting on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017 and had two children together.
But Gemma recently revealed that she “wasn’t even motherly” until she met Gorka and that everything she had planned “went out the window” after they got together.
Missed: Gorka also told how he missed the first few days with his four-year-old daughter Mia because Strictly rehearsals also clashed with the birth of his first child
Pregnancy: Gemma also gave an insight into her 28-hour labor and her decision to have an elective C-section in the latest episode of her and Gorka’s reality TV show
On her reality TV show, Gorka opened the conversation by asking Gemma: “We make a good team together. ‘Do you think we’re opposites?’
“No, I don’t think so,” Gemma replied.
She continued: “Well, when we went on our first date, we talked about our favorite movies, right? And you said The Notebook and I said Rambo: First Blood Part II!’
She added what she expected in her life: “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would end up with a dancer.”
“And it’s not derogatory because you’re a serious athlete.” But I always thought I was with someone like John Rambo or something.
“But when I met Gorka, I was like, ‘Oh my God!’ and everything I ever had planned for myself came to naught.”
“I wasn’t even motherly until I met Gorka. And then I met him and thought, “Oh, I could start a family with this one!”
This comes after Gemma revealed she wants Gorka to have “chemistry” with his Strictly partner ahead of the new series, which starts on Saturday, as the pair resolve the show’s so-called curse.
The former soap star spoke about the importance of a connection between dancers as the key to success in the competition.
Romance: Gorka and Gemma (pictured in 2019) fell in love after meeting on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, and Gemma recently revealed she was “not even motherly” until she met Gorka
Gemma, who dated Aljaž Škorjanec on the show in 2017, told Hello!: “Everyone said [during her time in the competition] “You have to look into it [Aljaž’s] “Eye and come closer” and I thought, “Oh my God, this is terrible!” But the dance looked like crap because I didn’t do it.
“I’m always in favor of having good chemistry between them!” “I think Gorka and I are very lucky that we both understand each other’s tasks,” she added.
The couple went on to discuss the show’s infamous curse, which caused the stars’ relationships to end after their appearance on the series.
But Gorka branded it a “myth” and said: “This can happen anywhere and in any job.”
Gemma and Gorka: Life Behind the Lens airs Wednesdays at 8pm on W and UKTV.