BBC Strictly star Sam Quek's devastating struggle with famous husband

Olympian turned Strictly star Sam Quek may be all smiles on the dance floor now - but her personal life was turned upside after experiencing a tragedy with husband Tom Mairs

It's hard to believe Sam Quek's life isn't all Olympic medals and glittery ballroom outfits.

The former Olympian and TV show host has struggled to score higher than 30 during her Strictly stint so far, ranking in the bottom four last week for her Quickstep to Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield. The 36-year-old, who is partnered with pro dancer Nikita Kuzmin, will have to step things up a notch if she's to achieve a personal best in Halloween Week - where she'll take on the Jive to Time Warp from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

But off screen, the ex hockey player has had to face much more sadness than a disapproving look from the judges...

The former Question of Sport star is married to entrepreneur Tom Mairs who runs a student property company in Liverpool and appeared on Channel 4's Secret Millionaire. The couple share two children together who were born just over a year apart, Molly, three, and a son Isaac, two.

But it was before Sam fell pregnant with Molly that the couple endured a heartbreaking tragedy that had a huge effect on them. In January 2020 and when she was 10 weeks pregnant, Sam miscarried. They fell pregnant again just months later but their fears over something going wrong again prevented them from announcing it to the world until they were six months along.

They decided to do so in an OK! magazine interview and shoot in which they spoke of why they had kept their wonderful news private for so long. "It's a strange one. Obviously it's the happiest moment of our lives so far," Sam said. "But what happened in January took a toll on both of us and we weren't able to speak about it properly.

Want the latest celeb news and exclusive interviews sent straight to your inbox? Sign up to our Showbiz Newsletter

"This second pregnancy I've stopped myself getting too excited, which is quite sad. But it made it easier to keep quiet because in the back of your head, you think, 'What if?'" The couple wanted to share their story in an attempt to raise awareness of miscarriage and to help others in the same situation.

Sam has appeared as a contestant on a couple of reality TV shows before Strictly, such as I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2016 and Celebrity Masterchef in 2020. Her stint on the BBC dance show will be keeping her busy for the foreseeable future and when it comes to adding a third baby to their brood, it doesn’t look like it will be happening in the near future. "We’ve not written it off - but this moment in time we are done," she said. "I’m a genetic twin - can you imagine going from two to four?"

Strictly Come Dancing airs every Saturday on BBC One.

A version of this article was first published on September 21, 2024.

Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads