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Brendan Cole finds his feet

The former 'bad boy of ballroom’ is taking his next big step – becoming a father.

He never puts a foot wrong on the dance floor, but Kiwi Dancing with the Stars judge Brendan Cole’s latest shuffle will be the pitter-patter of little feet. Christchurch-born Brendan (36) took to Twitter to share the exciting news that his wife, model Zoe Hobbs (31), is pregnant with their first child.

The couple were thrilled with the news, sharing the happy news with friends and family while holidaying on the island of Mallorca, Spain. “Check out my beautiful wife, if you think it looks like she might be ‘glowing’ then you’d be right… she is!” Brendan tweeted.

Many of his Twitter followers sent congratulations, prompting the ecstatic couple to thank them all for their messages. “Needless to say we are extremely happy & very excited about having a little Cole on the way x,” he tweeted. “Yes it’s true! My gorgeous hubby and I are thrilled to finally be able to tell you that we are having a baby! So excited,” replied the glowing mother-to-be, who is already sporting a small baby bump.

The holiday was a double celebration for the couple, who were already commemorating their two-year anniversary. Brendan and Zoe first met at a mutual friend’s birthday party in 2007. Brendan says it was love at first sight. “She walked across and said ‘hello’. I nearly fell over. I literally stopped in my tracks. From that day on, I’ve thought about nothing else.”

When interviewed by Hello! magazine in 2010, the dancer said he knew Zoe was the love of his life. “I will always have a photograph in my mind of her looking back at me and me thinking, ‘Oh my God, my life has just changed.'”

UK-based Brendan married his gorgeous wife in a fairytale wedding at a 13th-century church close to their home in south-east England, in 2010. Guests who attended the picture-perfect event included Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood and English TV personality Sir Bruce Forsyth. After the ceremony, the newlyweds said they were planning to start a family. “I can’t imagine Zoe not being the mother of my children. We both want them pretty much straightaway,” said Brendan.

The dancer says the key to a successful marriage is putting your spouse first – leaving his wife out of his busy dancing schedule is not a step he is willing to take. “Zoe often comes with me [when I’m travelling], because it can cause rifts if you’re spending a lot of time with a professional dance partner.”

Although he has a huge following in New Zealand, Brendan has also become a household name in the UK. He first appeared on Come Dancing as an amateur dancer in 1996, later gaining attention in 2003 when he came third for his seductive Latin American dancing in the UK Closed Championships.

Brendan secured a regular spot on Strictly Come Dancing in 2004, where he starred in all nine series of the show. He danced with numerous celebrities, including former Destiny’s Child star Michelle Williams and Shout singer Lulu. He returned to his Kiwi roots in 2005 when he took a judging role on New Zealand’s Dancing With The Stars in 2005, and briefly dated his long-time friend, Nicky Watson.

Brendan’s use of “illegal” dance moves and verbal clashes with judges over the years resulted him being dubbed “the bad boy of ballroom” – a reputation that was reinforced by his ex-fiancée, fellow dancer Camilla Dallerup, who suspected him of being unfaithful to her with his Dancing co-star, Natasha Kaplinsky.

Brendan’s heartbreaker reputation was brought to the attention of the wedding guests, when his best man Conrad commented on his ways with women before meeting his future wife. “Brendan was a bit unfocused,” said Conrad. “A bit of a ‘Jack the lad’. But since he met Zoe, he’s definitely changed for the better.”

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