All about Strictly star Nikita Kuzmin’s enviable love life – including model girlfriend Lauren Jaine
Nikita and Lauren love to share loved up posts online (Instagram)
Possibly due to the fact he’s a Strictly dancer who has danced with other men on the hit show, a lot of people regularly Google “Is Nikita Kuzmin gay?”
Well, while the Strictly Come Dancing star has never publicly confirmed his sexuality (also, let’s remember that bisexual and pansexual men exist!) we do know that he has a girlfriend, model Lauren Jaine, who he was reunited with in a tearful and emotional episode running up to the Celebrity Big Brother 2024 final recently.
The professional dancer and staunch LGBTQ+ ally, who was teamed up with gay actor Layton Williams in the most recent series of Strictly – a same-sex pairing that delighted viewers – has made it to the final five of the ITV reality show.
A CBB episode that aired on Thursday (21 March) saw the housemates briefly reunite with their loved ones, and Nikita and Lauren locked lips the second they laid eyes on each other.
Gay reality star David Potts, who is currently favourite to win, gasped when he watched on the big screen and said: “She’s gorgeous!”
The Sun revealed that the pair were dating back in October 2023 and said they’d been an item for several months by that time. Here’s what we know about Lauren Jaine – plus Nikita’s previous relationships.
Who is Nikita Kuzmin’s girlfriend?
Lauren Jaine is a 23-year-old model who is signed to First Model Management. She has over 10k followers on Instagram.
She’s used her Instagram presence to ask for people to vote for Nikita in the Celebrity Big Brother 2024 final. She also appeared on Celebrity Big Brother’s Late and Live spin-off show to explain what she thought of her boyfriend’s appearance on the reality show.
She said: “I really love it when he’s just messing around with the boys, it looks like he’s having such a fun time with his friends. I did love it when he was dressed as a bunny rabbit. That was really funny.”
The Durham University graduate has also used TikTok to post cute videos of herself and her Strictly boyfriend.
Ex-girlfriend Nicole Wirt
Nikita Kuzmin was previously in a relationship with fellow professional dancer, Nicole Wirt, for five years, but they split up in October 2022. Nicole is primarily based in Germany; she also worked as a choreographer and designer and toured the UK with Here Come The Boys in June and July 2022.
In December 2021, Nicole took to social media to share pictures of Nikita, writing: “I could have never imagined how our story together would go on till this very day, but here we are in December 2021: happy & grateful for what was and hungry & excited for all the new experiences, challenges and blessings which are ahead of us.”
Former ‘lover’ Charlie Backshall
Nikita Kuzmin was also rumoured to have had a fling with Australian TikTok star and sex podcaster Charlie Backshall, whose podcast The Hotline included details of their sex life. The pair were spotted walking hand in London in February 2023.
In an episode titled “We’re Back and I’m Still in Love”, Backshall talked about a raunchy act she performed with a man (believed to be Nikita) that made her a “new woman”.
Nikita Kuzmin’s cats
Women aren’t the only important thing in Nikita Kuzmin’s life. He has two cats named Leo and Bagheera who he dotes on, and often posts on social media. We love to see it, etc.
So, is Nikita on Strictly gay? On the balance of probabilities, we think that the answer is “probably not”.
