Strictly’s Thomas Skinner and wife Sinéad put on a united front amid his affair scandal as they hosted a viewing party to watch his dance floor debut on Saturday.
The Apprentice star, 34, admitted to cheating on his wife, with whom he shares three young children, just weeks after their wedding in May 2022. Claiming the ‘two week fling’ was a ‘moment of madness’ that saw him almost ‘ruin his life.’
However ‘secret mistress’ Amy-Lucy O’Rourke suggested in an interview with the Daily Mail that their secret relationship lasted three months, during which time he said he was in love with her and unhappy with Sinéad.
Taking to his Instagram Stories Thomas shared snaps as the couple were joined by family and friends to watch his pre-recorded appearance on the BBC show which saw him paired with Welsh pro Amy Dowden, 35.
The TV personality beamed as he wrapped his arms around five-year-old son Henry in a huge crowd, and captioned the post: ‘Lovely night with lovely people!’.
Sinéad was also all smiles alongside her female friends just days after breaking her silence on the scandal.
Strictly’s Thomas Skinner and wife Sinéad put on a united front amid his affair scandal as they hosted a viewing party to watch his dance floor debut on Saturday
The Apprentice star, 34, admitted to cheating on his wife (centre) with whom he shares three young children, just weeks after their wedding in May 2022.
Taking to his Instagram Stories Thomas shared snaps as the couple were joined by family and friends to watch him as he was paired with Welsh pro Amy Dowden, 35
A friend of Sinéad reportedly revealed how the star’s wife is really feeling as they confessed she is finding it ‘difficult’.
‘This has of course all been upsetting for Sinead. The attention has been difficult for her as it brings it all back but she is resilient and her family is strong, her marriage is strong,’ they told The Sun on Sunday.
They added: ‘And, as she says, she knew about this more than three years ago and they dealt with the aftermath together back then. This is old news to her, she forgave him then.
‘What people probably don’t realise is that Sinead is an incredibly strong woman. Tom has described her as his rock and it is so true, she is.’
Daily Mail has contacted Thomas’s representatives for comment.
It comes after pro Amy insisted she was loving every minute of her new partnership with under-fire Thomas.
The Welsh ballroom professional has returned to the BBC show on a full time basis after injury curtailed her original return in 2024, for which she was paired with JLS star JB Gill.
And Amy now back to full health after being diagnosed with grade 3 breast cancer in May 2023, claims her new dance partner’s sense of humour has helped ease her back into the show’s rigorous training programme.
Sinéad was also all smiles alongside her female friends just days after breaking her silence on the scandal
‘secret mistress’ Amy-Lucy O’Rourke suggested in an interview with the Daily Mail that their secret relationship lasted three months , during which time he said he was in love with her
A friend of Sinéad reportedly revealed how the star’s wife is really feeling as they confessed she is finding it ‘difficult’ (Sinéad and Thomas pictured together)
Sharing a photo of herself alongside Thomas she wrote: ‘The news is out! @iamtomskinner and I are excited and working hard rrrrrready for the first live show next Saturday!
‘Tom is working so hard and is loving learning to dance ( more than he ever imagined). We are laughing lots too!
‘Honestly Tom it’s been so lovely getting to know the really lovely, bubbly, full of life you this week. Thanks for a great week and so looking forward to our strictly journey ahead! Let’s do this.’
Taking to his own Instagram platform, Thomas shared similar sentiments alongside a behind-the-scenes video of himself and Amy in the rehearsal studio.
He wrote: ‘Let me introduce you to an absolute legend, me parter for Strictly Come Dancing. The lovely @amy_dowden – We ain’t stopped laughing since we met, and she is teaching me the moves which you’ll see at the end of the video.
‘Honoured to be doing Strictly and I’ll be posting lots of behind the scenes videos. Honestly never fort I would love dancing as much as I am! Enjoy.’ [sic]
The Essex based businessman rounded off the clip with a somewhat shaky attempt at twirling Amy, who was among the first people to comment on his latest post.
Amy insists she’s loving every minute of her new partnership with Thomas after he was announced as her celebrity partner
‘Yes partner. Had the best week! You’ve work hard, we’ve laughed, and fun and you are looking after me too as am I you! Let’s do this partner,’ she wrote.
Despite their apparent bond, fans have expressed dismay over the unlikely pairing given her long awaited return to the show following a series of health setbacks.
Commenting on social media, one disappointed viewer wrote: ‘You deserved better.’
A second added: ‘I am gutted she’s got him on her first year back.’
While a third posted: ‘You look amazing Amy. Great to see you back. So sorry you got the short straw with him though.’
Thomas has faced enormous public scrutiny since confirming his involvement in the show after storming out of a Strictly press event in September.
And BBC News presenter Peter Levy admits he too is disappointed with the decision to pair him with Amy for this year’s series.
