Gemma Atkinson shuts down 'rough patch' claim with Gorka Marquez after 'tough' admission

Gemma Atkinson wants the world to know that her relationship with Gorka Marquez, whom she met on Strictly Come Dancing in 2018 and went on to have two children with, is as strong as ever. The exasperated 39-year-old took to Instagram to dismiss an article she'd read suggesting she'd taken a "swipe" at her partner on her Hits Radio show over his lengthy absences.

"Ffs, is this where we're at again?" she began. "To those who listened to our radio show and laughed along with this tongue in cheek bit of banter we had, you'll know how ridiculously click bait this article is!"

Adding a head-in-hands emoji to punctuate her point, she urged fans: "Don't bother with it. Sorry to say, but there never was/is a rough patch." Gorka has been busy with work after landing a seat on the judging panel of Bailando con las Estrellas - the Madrid-based version of Strictly.

The new job role has had him jetting back and forth between Britain and his home country of Spain, where he currently spends every weekend. That has left Gemma looking after their four-year-old daughter Mia, and baby son Thiago.

However, far from being distraught or irritated when thousands of miles separate the pair, she's clarified multiple times that she enjoys her alone time now and then. In fact, she's even gone as far as to say that Gorka's return disrupts Mia's bedtime and "ruins the routine" she's set in place with the kids.

Chatting to Scott Thomas on his self-improvement podcast, Learning As I Go, she elaborated: "Because he's away a lot... when he comes back, he doesn't want to be telling [the kids] 'no'.

"He's like, 'I'm only with [daughter Mia] for two days this week, I'm gonna do everything with her' and I'm like, 'Okay, but she has got school in the morning, so she has to be asleep for 8:00pm latest, is that okay?'

"Then at 8:20pm, I go up and there's a den made and he's throwing her around, and I'm thinking, 'Come on!'" she exclaimed in frustration.

"When he leaves the next day, I'm waking her up for school and she's grumpy."

Meanwhile, she revealed on Hits Radio of his latest absence: "He’s away for five weeks now. Who knows where? He’s all over the shop.

"It is tough and it isn’t - it takes a village, they say, with kids and I’m very fortunate that my mum and my sister are very close by."

She added that the set-up - which some might find unusual - is all the pair have ever known.

"Sometimes it is easier for me to get into the routine with the children whilst he’s not here and then he comes back and ruins the routine - but he’s nice to have around the house!" she revealed, adding that she misses his top notch cooking when they're apart.

Meanwhile, Gemma appeared to accidentally let slip that Gorka will be returning as a pro dancer for Strictly 2024, although she has since deleted the post referring to the topic.