Janette Manrara discusses her relationship with Aljaž Škorjanec
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Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two presenter Janette Manrara, 37, and husband Aljaz Skorjanec, 31, have been happily married for four years. The couple are beloved by fans of the show for their close bond and stunning ballroom and Latin dance routines on the BBC show.
However, Janette has now revealed things haven’t always been plain sailing for the couple, while reflecting on a make or break moment at the start of their relationship in a new interview.
The former Strictly pro admitted she didn’t reciprocate Aljaz’s romantic feelings when they first met.
For Aljaz, it was love at first sight and he continued to ask Janette out on dates, which she turned down several times, as she thought they would be better as friends.
Speaking on the Sliding Doors podcast with Jennie Becker, Janette reflected on “the final straw” she experienced with Aljaz while he was trying to win her over.
Opening up on when they first started spending time together while working on the same production, Janette said: “We started hanging out with the cast and just being mates and from day one he always said he fancied me.
“And it wasn’t the same for me, I didn’t fancy him from day one, and so I remember the first time when we all went out together as a cast, we went for drinks after one of the shows one night, and Aljaz kept, every single time without fail, he’d be like, ‘When are you going to let me buy you a drink? When are you going to let me take you on a date?’
“And I’d be like, ‘no, it’s not going to happen, you’re just not my type’.
“I just thought, nah we’re mates, let’s keep it at that, he was living in Slovenia, and I was living in LA at the time, it’s never going to work.
“But one of the first nights when we went out drinking with the cast, he said, ‘do you know what? One day, I’m going to marry you’.
“And I remember going, ‘yeah right!’”
Addressing the turning point in the couple’s relationship, Janette admitted their mutual friend’s heartbreaking split actually brought them closer together romantically.
She explained: “And it was our friend’s break-up, I feel awful, but it was our friend’s break-up that really kind of helped me see what Aljaz was really like, because it was like, the last straw.
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“And I loved the creativity of what he did. He said, ‘our friend is going through a really bad break-up, I think we should take him out for dinner and drinks’.
“And I was like, ‘what? The two of us?’ I’m like, ‘is this another one of your schemes to try and get me to go out with you?’
“And then I thought, as it’s so creative, why not? Let’s do it.”
Janette divulged that Aljaz’s emotional maturity during their conversations with their friend that evening made her think about him differently.
She added: “And then we did, and I think listening to him talk about life, and marriage, and relationships, and love, and family and all these deep and meaningful conversations you have when someone is a bit heartbroken like our friend was, that’s when I kind of really started changing my eyes for him.
“That’s when I started seeing him as someone who is just so wonderful on the inside, and has so much emotional intelligence.”
The dancer continued: “And that was kind of the moment, and when he asked me out again, I said, ‘do you know what? Yeah, let’s go’.
“And we went on one date after that, and I never looked back.”
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