All-professional dancer Vito Coppola has “confirmed” his romance with his partner Ellie Leach, calling her “my baby” in a seductive Instagram post.
The 31-year-old Italian posed in the sultry black and white photo while flexing his tattooed muscles and captioned the upload: “Just finished another day of rehearsals.” “Well done my baby Ellie Leach .”
He shared the update on the Strictly couple on Wednesday night after they spent hours in the training room ahead of Saturday night’s live show.
His declaration of love for the 22-year-old former Coronation Street actress comes after her ex-Strictly co-star Amanda Abbington, 51, called them the “most beautiful couple” on social media while saying she was “like that “proud” of their achievement.
Ellie, who split from her boyfriend of five years in May after he cheated on her, described her final dance with Vito as a “magical night” as viewers continued to comment on their chemistry.
All-professional dancer Vito Coppola has “confirmed” his romance with his partner Ellie Leach, calling her “my baby” in a seductive Instagram post
The Italian posed in the photo while flexing his tattooed muscles and captioned the upload: “Just finished another day of rehearsals.” Happy birthday to my baby, Ellie Leach.
His declaration of love for the former Coronation Street actress comes after Amanda Abbington described them as the “most beautiful couple” on social media
The soap star’s romance with ex Reagan Pettman ended after she discovered he had been unfaithful, later admitting the betrayal had affected her self-esteem.
She hoped that taking part in Strictly would help her regain her confidence and says her professional partner Vito was instrumental in making this possible.
Speaking about her heartbreak, Ellie said in October: “Being cheated on was upsetting, but now is the perfect time to give my best to Strictly and give it 500 per cent.”
She continued: “Confidence is something I’ve always struggled with.” As an actor, people don’t see that – they think you’re this confident person and you can do anything. I hope Strictly brings that to me, pushes me and makes me realize that I’m capable of things.
“Vito has already taught me so much. He tells me, “It’s a competition with yourself.” “When you’re tired, fight it, when you’re stressed, fight it.” I don’t praise myself enough either, I just focus on the wrong thing. But then he’ll say to me, “Yeah, but you just did that…”
Vito has reportedly been single since the end of his affair with 41-year-old singer Arisa, with whom he won the Italian version of Strictly in 2021.
When he joined the series that same year, he was still in a relationship with his long-time girlfriend, Italian model Valentina Sica.
The couple split after six years amid speculation they had fallen victim to the famous Strictly curse, which has ended more than one high-profile relationship.
Vito fell victim to the Strictly curse in 2021 when he reportedly started dating singer Arisa, with whom he won the Italian series that same year, ending his relationship with model girlfriend Valentina Sica (pictured).
Ellie and Vito have a good chance of winning the Glitterball trophy this season after topping the leaderboard multiple times with their impressive performances
It is the second time Vito has claimed the title of Strictly champion, but his first victory on British soil
Ellie and Vito are expected to win the Glitterball trophy this season after topping the leaderboard multiple times with their impressive performances.
It is the second time Vito has claimed the title of Strictly champion, but his first victory on British soil.
Last year he joined the BBC series, appearing with former X Factor star Fleur East and the pair reached the final of the competition.
Since then, Fleur has hosted the spin-off show “It Takes Two” alongside former professional dancer Janette Manrara.