Dancing on Ice’s Christopher Dean’s life off screen including romance with co-star

Dancing on Ice judge Christopher Dean has been a familiar face on our screens for decades

ITV Dancing on Ice’s Christopher Dean’s life off screen(Image: 2024 Jeff Spicer)

Dancing on Ice judge Christopher Dean, best known for his ice-skating partnership with Jayne Torvill, has often been mistaken by fans as being in a romantic relationship with her. The duo captured the nation’s heart when they won gold at the Sarajevo 1984 Winter Olympics and have since become familiar faces on ITV’s Dancing on Ice as expert judges.

However, off the rink, Christopher is not married to his iconic skating partner. While Jayne has been married to Paul Christensen since 1990, Christopher has been in a relationship with Karen Barber since 2011.

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A closer look into Christopher’s personal life reveals that his relationship with Jayne Torvill is strictly professional, except for one teenage kiss. Jayne playfully told the Radio Times: “We were in the back of the bus going to a league match, and it just happened. It was a one-off. We never talked about it afterwards. We laugh about it now.”

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Christopher added: “We were 14-years-old, and teenagers in the most naïve sense. We didn’t talk about it much after,” according to RSVP Live, reports the Mirror.

Christopher Dean, renowned for his ice-skating prowess, has navigated the peaks and valleys of love more than once. Initially united in matrimony with Canadian ice dance sensation Isabelle Duchesnay from 1991 to 1993, their journey as husband and wife was short-lived.

Not one to glide solo for long, Dean soon spun into a new romance with American figure skating star Jill Trenary. The couple said ‘I do’ in 1994 and later welcomed two sons: Jack, now 26, and Sam, aged 24.

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Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are judges on ITV’s Dancing on Ice(Image: ITV)

Yet after over a decade of shared life and laughter, Dean and Trenary decided to part ways. In March 2010, their separation was confirmed by Dean’s representative who stressed that despite the split, the pair remained on friendly terms for the sake of their children.

Dean later found a new partner in skater and Dancing On Ice coach Karen Barber. She, too, had recently exited a lengthy marriage to skating coach Stephen Pickavance, and together they have two daughters.

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Amid speculation, the couple openly acknowledged their growing affection, stating: “We have been great friends for more than 30 years. Following recent media speculation, we feel the necessity to confirm that this year has seen a change in our relationship, but we are taking things very slowly, as it is early days.”

Karen Barber and Christopher Dean attend the National Television Awards 2020 at The O2 Arena (Image: Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Deeply thankful for the support system around them, they further remarked: “We’d very much like to thank our dear friends, who have been so incredibly supportive to us. We both have families with children, so we ask the media to please respect their privacy.” Dean and Barber have since built their nest together in Buckinghamshire, blending their lives beyond the rink.

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Christopher, together with Jayne, is on the judging panel for the latest series of Dancing on Ice. The show features a star-studded line-up including fan favourite Michaela Strachan, EastEnders’ Charlie Brooks, Olympic rower Sir Steve Redgrave, TOWIE’s Dan Edgar, and reality TV personality Ferne McCann.