ITV Dancing on Ice’s Vanessa Bauer goes official with new boyfriend ahead of series return amid show romance rumours
Dancing on Ice star Vanessa Bauer has made her new relationship public ahead of the show’s return to ITV in the new year.
The 28-year-old professional skater is currently in rehearsals for the competition’s return, where she’s been partnered with Love Island star Chris Taylor, 34. Despite rumours of a skating romance from last year, Bauer has now made her relationship status clear on social media.
It seems Bauer and new boyfriend James Rowe are now Instagram official, with the skater having posted a series of loved up snaps with the former footballer.
The 33-year-old former footballer accompanied Bauer on a festive trip to Finland, and their closeness was clear in the pictures posted online to her 210,000 followers which showed the two appearing very snug together.
Rowe, who retired from professional football recently, also shared some photos on his social media page. He has, in the past, played for Reading FC, Cheltenham Town and Aldershot Town.
As she shared the moments the two had captured as they made the most of their Christmassy holiday together, Bauer reflected on her father’s death in 2021.
Next to the snaps, the skater candidly captioned the post: “I’ve been emotional lately. A pull between feeling the happiest I’ve ever been but the moment I fly home for Christmas a different reality kicks in.”
She continued: “I believe that the pulls between my upbringing, our families’ loss and the beautiful life I get to live now is not a burden but in a way it can be seen as a blessing.
“And I certainly am grateful for my family and the 25 years I got to know my dad.
“Perspective has created the person I am now, to keep me grounded, driven, to know life in its many different ways and remain resilient.”
“Gratitude is an understatement and I’ll retain the discipline to keep growing my luck,” she added.
The Dancing on Ice star ended the reflective post with an inspiring message, sharing: “Anything is possible and love and magic truly is everywhere,” along with a love heart emoji.
The new romance comes after Bauer split from ex-boyfriend Dan Underwood in June of this year after just nine months together.
Sources suggested she wanted to focus more on her career and had remained friends with the businessman.
“Vanessa and Dan are still on good terms and are friends, but their job takes them to different parts of the world and they have struggled with the distance,” a source told The Sun at the time.
Bauer’s update also follows rumours of a romance with her Dancing on Ice partner of last year, reality star Joey Essex.
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The two skated together in the 2023 series of the ITV show, almost instantly sparking dating speculation.
Essex, 34, seemed to suggest the rumours were true at the time when he commented: “Me and Vanessa have a great bond, we’ve always gotten on well with each other since day one.
“It’s very special and I think it would be quite nice to see what’s going on in the outside because we’re just mainly in the the ice rink to be honest.”
However, the two seemed to end any romance that had started just a month after the show ended, with a source telling MailOnline: “Joey absolutely loved his time performing with Vanessa on Dancing On Ice – he will treasure those memories forever.
“But for now, he’s focussing on work opportunities and beginning a new chapter in Dubai.
“He’s definitely single and while Vanessa means a lot to him because of the experience they shared on the show, they’re just friends now.”