Strictly winner Joanne Clifton has announced she and boyfriend AJ Jenks are engaged.
The professional dancer took to Instagram to share her happy news, showing off her stunning diamond ring.
Joanne, 41, also shared a loved-up snap with AJ and captioned the post: ‘Got bored… so we’re getting married. Cheers!’
Joanne and AJ were flooded with messages from friends and fans, including her brother Kevin and his wife Stacey Dooley.
Kevin showed his support by resharing the picture to his own social media page, while Stacey commented: ‘Whehehehheyyyyyuyyyyyyy,’ with heart emojis.
Meanwhile former Strictly co-star Oti Mabuse said: ‘Congratulations jojobear
Strictly winner Joanne Clifton has announced she and boyfriend AJ Jenks are engaged
The professional dancer took to Instagram to share her happy news, showing off her stunning diamond ring
Karen Hauer commented: ‘Omg jo!! Congratulations beautiful ❤️ big hug’
Joanne left Strictly in 2016 but not before lifting the Glitterball trophy with presenter Ore Oduba.
Joanne and AJ went public with their romance in 2020.
She previously confessed that the performer managed to change her mind after she initially decided not to date anyone from her industry.
‘I went to see AJ in the Buddy Holly musical and he asked me out for a drink. I was convinced it wasn’t going to work but we’ve been together nearly two years now.’
Joanne suffers from osteoarthritis in both knees – a condition she’d been diagnosed with the year before, aged just 31.
In 2021 she shared that her knees are now so stiff she can’t get out of her car without the aid of a special device to grip on to to lever herself out. She can’t run or jump and must be ultra-careful of housework that involves crouching.
Osteoarthritis, which affects 8.5 million adults in the UK, is where the protective cartilage at the ends of the bones breaks down.
Joanne, 41, captioned the post: ‘Got bored… so we’re getting married. Cheers!’
Kevin showed his support by resharing the picture to his own social media page, while Stacey commented: ‘Whehehehheyyyyyuyyyyyyy,’ with heart emojis
Joanne and Kevin pictured on Strictly Come Dancing in 2014
It is generally caused by wear and tear and while the first twinges begin in the over-40s, by 65 at least 50 per cent of Britons will suffer from osteoarthritis to some degree in at least one joint – most commonly, the knees.
But younger people can get it too due to obesity (which puts excess pressure on the joints), a sedentary lifestyle (which can stiffen joints, leading to wear and tear), genes or – as in Joanne’s case – from being very active.
By the time she reached the Strictly final in 2016, Joanne’s knees had taken the brunt of intense training with broadcaster Ore. Their final show involved leaping on and off drum tops.
‘I was a bit silly – I put a great idea ahead of my own condition,’ she told Good Health. ‘I’d been told when I was diagnosed in 2015 to avoid high-impact movements. We’d been practising jumping all week.
‘By the Friday and Saturday, I was really struggling. I look back on that dance now and think: “Ooh, for the sake of my knees, why did I choreograph all that jumping?”.
‘After our last dance, I could only hobble up to Claudia [Winkleman] to get our points. But winning was a great feeling despite the pain.’
Joanne left Strictly after the final, which also marked the end of her ballroom dancing career. She doesn’t say that arthritis forced her out but it’s hard to see how she could have gone on.
Joanne left Strictly in 2016 but not before lifting the Glitterball trophy with presenter Ore Oduba
