Brianne Delcourt struggles to be tough on Kevin Kilbane.

Brianne Delcourt and Kevin Kilbane

Brianne Delcourt and Kevin Kilbane

The 'Dancing On Ice' pro skater admitted her romance with the former footballer means she finds it "hard" to push him as much as she would another partner.

Speaking on ITV's 'Lorraine', she said: "I'm used to being a tough coach, but it's a bit hard with Kevin because obviously there's feelings involved, I adore him, so it's hard.

"Even if I do try to be hard, he just laughs at me."

However, the 38-year-old star thinks their relationship will give the couple - who found themselves bottom of the leaderboard on Sunday (26.01.20) but avoided the skate-off - an extra edge over the competition.

She added: "There's a natural connection, it's not put on, it's real and we enjoy each other."

And Kevin, 42, explained how "quickly" the couple realised they were attracted to each other after meeting for the first time.

He said: "When we first met four months ago, everything happened very quickly, it absolutely did. I certainly knew straight away that was it, yeah."

Kevin and Brianne skated together for four months in preparation for the show - which returned to screens earlier this month - and whilst they started out as "best buds", their romance quickly blossomed.

Recalling the start of their relationship, Brianne said: "We were just friends initially, but he's been my biggest support while I've been without my daughter. Kev's a dad, too, so he gets it. He's been my best bud."

The Canadian figure skater spends eight weeks away from her three-year-old daughter Gracie whilst on the show, and Kevin is father to 16-year-old Elsie and 14-year-old Isla, whom he has with his ex-wife Laura.

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