EXCLUSIVE Kristina Rihanoff and Ben Cohen are STILL living together four weeks after announcing split because neither can afford to move out
Estranged couple Kristina Rihanoff and Ben Cohen are still living together after their split due to severe financial difficulties.
Estranged couple Kristina Rihanoff and Ben Cohen are still living together after their split due to severe financial difficulties.
The couple, who met on Strictly Come Dancing, announced four weeks ago that they had parted ways and were going to go forward as separate individuals after 12 years as an item. They share daughter Mila, nine.
A friend of the couple says that they arent able to afford for either of them to move out of the family home in Northamptonshire which went on the market months before they broke up.
Former rugby star Cohen, 46, and former professional dancer Rihanoff, 47, poured everything they had into a yoga studios and fitness business and were severely impacted by Covid.
The friend says: The split is reasonably amicable and they are putting co-parenting first, but who would want to live with their ex?
They owe a lot of money after serious business difficulties and it seems that even when the house sale goes through they arent going to come out with all that much.
At that point they will try to fund two separate much smaller places to live going forward. It will be a huge downsize for them both.
But for now they are having to carry on living together because they have to look after their finances really carefully. They simply cant afford a different solution.
Kristina Rihanoff and Ben Cohen are pictured together in July 2023
They started Soo Yoga Group together in June 2017 - four years after falling for each other when they partnered on the 11th series of Strictly (seen on Strictly in 2013)
The five-bedroom home in Sywell, Northamptonshire (pictured) was bought in 2016
The home has a large kitchen area with granite worktops, recessed lighting and a large central island unit, as well as an integrated wine fridge, wine racks and breakfast bar area
Their house is understood now to be under offer having gone on the market for £1.75 million.
The couple got engaged on a sun-kissed beach in the Maldives in 2022 and told of their hopes of tying the knot in Tuscany or Oxfordshire.
Ben told Hello! Magazine in 2023: Over the last nine years weve been through the wringer.
To support each other through difficult times in business is the ultimate test in a relationship.
Ive watched her flourish, from her becoming a mum to growing as a businesswoman, and it has strengthened our bond.
But financial pressures appear to have wrecked their partnership and they announced at the start of March that it was all over.
During a court hearing last year after Kristina was caught driving without insurance Ben Cohen gave an insight into their predicament saying: I get up every day and I fight not to lose everything - to lose my cars and my house and my relationship. Im so overdrawn.
He went on: Were still living together. Were in it financially. Were in business together so the problem is that we opened the business before Covid and we got the worst severities of it and in all honestly this is just another problem for me to deal with.
Ben Cohen with his ex wife Abby at the Ben Cohen Foundation Ball in 2014
Abby shared a carefree snap as she enjoyed a day at the races in Guilsborough with her pet pooch Branston Pickle after the rugby stars split from Strictlys Kristina Rihanoff
It is described as a superb family home offering spacious and versatile living accommodation kitted out with an impressive kitchen breakfast/family living area
One of the five bedrooms in Cohen and Rihanoffs home
Ive got credit cards that are overdrawn. Im overdrawn in both accounts. We have got a business debt because of Covid. Its just another problem.
It has been reported that they owe up to £1 million.
They started Soo Yoga Group together in June 2017 - four years after falling for each other when they partnered on the 11th series of the hit BBC show. Rihanoff retrained as a yoga instructor and Cohen offered High Intensity Training.
Companies House records showed that the Soo Yoga Group Ltd was £488,470 in the red in its last submitted set of accounts for the year ending on July 31, 2022.
The company was facing being struck off and Cohen has since resigned as a director leaving Rihanoff as its sole director - while other companies linked to the couple were also in difficulties.
Cohen resorted to selling topless photos of himself in a bid to raise some cash.
Ahead of the new year, he created a calendar with 1,000 personally signed editions selling at £32.95 a time in the hope of raking in £33,000.
The property has a spacious sitting room with double doors providing access to the propertys gardens and grounds
Another living area in the house with a fitted media cabinet, display shelving, cupboards and drawers
His 17-year-old twins, Harriette and Isabelle, split their time between the homes of their mum and dad. In an interview last month, Abby said that she had not seen Kristina Rihanoff since Strictly.
She said: Its weird and bizarre but our paths havent crossed. I cant believe it either, given that we live in the same town. Ive never even bumped into her. Its as if the universe has kept us apart, probably to protect my emotions.
Abby revealed that she has PTSD from what happened on Strictly and had a breakdown due to the trauma of her marriage falling apart. She said: Im sick of being talked about every time Ben and Kristina are mentioned. Unfortunately, Im always brought into their story because I was the victim, if you like, at the time. Their love story involves me because I was the third person. But I just want it to go away. I want this to be closure on it.
Of the break-up she said: Im sad for Ben. I do feel sorry for him. Our marriage broke down and its happening all over again to him, and hes got another child.
Hes got to start again from nothing, in his late forties. Hes going from being so successful as a rugby player to [people] now reading of his business failures.
Its come full circle now that they have split. It reminds me of all the hurt I went through. Was it really worth it? I dont know.
She added: To be successful and have longevity, relationships have to be built on strong foundations. How they met is not, in my opinion, a solid enough foundation because it is all about lust. Its a physical thing. I dont know, but it doesnt seem to me like an organic thing.