SOBBING Strictly star Kristina Rihanoff has blamed her fiance Ben Cohen after she was hauled off to court for a driving offence.
The couple admitted that they are “struggling not to lose everything”.
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Kristina Rihanoff and Ben Cohen first met in 2013. Credit: Rex
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They started dating after teaming up on Strictly Come DancingCredit: Xclusive Pix Ltd
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The couple share a daughter, MilaCredit: @krihanoff
Rugby World Cup winner Mr Cohen, 45, appeared alongside Rihanoff, 46, after she was caught driving her £30,000 Audi Q3 without insurance.
During the hearing at Northampton Crown Court, Mr Cohen said he had ignored the text message from his insurance company.
Mr Cohen confirmed that he was solely responsible for procuring insurance for the couple’s cars.
The court was told that Mr Cohen searched for cheaper insurance online at the end of February after Aviva offered him £7,500.
BEN COHEN AND KRISTINA RHIANOFF’S DIFFICULT RELATIONSHIP
The couple met when they were partners for the 11th series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2013 and fell in love.
This was despite Cohen being married to Abby Bray at the time.
Cohen and Rihanoff share a daughter, Mila, and planned to marry in Tuscany or Oxfordshire.
He said Hello! 2023 Magazine: “During the last nine years, we’ve been through the wringer.
“Supporting each other in difficult business moments is the biggest test in a relationship.
“I’ve watched her progress, from becoming a mom to growing as a business woman, and it’s strengthened our bond.”
The couple previously revealed they got engaged during a sun-drenched holiday in the Maldives in 2022.
He said he took out the policy with Dial Direct on February 22, paying monthly by direct debit.
He was overseas in March when he received a text message saying Dial Direct would cancel his insurance unless he sent them claims information.
He said he didn’t have a no claim bonus so he didn’t send any details to the company and they didn’t respond so the policy was canceled on March 7th.
On April 14, Rihanoff was pulled over for driving without insurance in Northampton city centre.
The court was told that when police officers called him, he immediately tried to take out another policy with the same company.
When asked if he knew on April 14 that the policy had been cancelled, he replied: “I 100 percent did not know that the policy would be cancelled, because the information about the claims they were looking for was not relevant to me.”
Strictly’s Kristina Rihanoff admits she almost QUIT the BBC show over lack of mental health support as she embroiled in bullying row
Speaking about the insurance, Mr Cohen added: “I didn’t know until I got Kristina’s call and then I (said) ‘what are you talking about’.”
He also said he did not tell Rihanoff about the insurance cancellation.
He also admitted he did not ask Rihanoff about the dates of her previous speeding offenses before taking out the policy.
Rihanoff, who appeared under the name Kristina Pchenitchnykh, was caught driving her 72-plate Audi in Northampton’s Horsemarket on April 4.
The Russian dancer received six points on her licence, but faced a ban after accumulating 12 penalty points.
She went to court on Friday (September 6) to appeal the conviction for driving without insurance, with Mr Cohen appearing as her witness.
The pair fell for each other after being partnered in the 11th series of Strictly in 2013.
The court heard they set up several businesses, including a yoga studio, which suffered the effects of Covid.
Mr Cohen said: “I get up every day and fight not to lose everything – to lose my cars and my house and my relationship. I’m so over the top.”
When asked about the tension in his and Rihanoff’s relationship, he said: “We still live together.
“We are in it financially.
“We do business together, so the problem is that we opened the company before Covid and we had the worst consequences and frankly, this is just another problem that I have to deal with.
“I have credit cards that are overdrawn. I have overdrafts on both accounts. We have business debt because of Covid.
– That’s just another problem.
Rihanoff sobbed throughout the hearing and had to leave the courtroom with her hands over her mouth because she was sick.
She spent the rest of the hearing wrapped in a white blanket with a handkerchief over her eyes.
She told the court she had to travel to judge dance competitions across the country which earned her £2,000 a month.
She also said she had to drive her children to school.
Record holder Louise Cox rejected her appeal but told Rihanoff she had “full sympathy” for her.
She said: “We consider that you honestly believed you were insured, but we do not accept that that belief was a reasonable basis for your lack of insurance.”
She said Rihanoff should have made sure she was insured before driving.
She was spared a driving ban due to “exceptional hardship” despite accumulating 12 penalty points.
The court heard that Rihanoff needed a car to take his two daughters to school.
The court heard that her eight-year-old stepdaughter was suffering from a heart problem and had taken her to Great Ormond Street Hospital for treatment.
Rihanoff lives 25 minutes from her dance studio and travels around the UK on weekends judging dance competitions.
Rihanoff, of Ecton Lane, Sywell, Northants., was ordered to pay £357 appeal costs.
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At one point, Rihanoff left the courtroom in tears Credit: Fame Flynet
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The couple launched a number of business venturesCredit: Kristina Rihanoff
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They admitted financial difficulties from CovidCredit: Justin Goff
ABBIE BRAY IS LOUD ABOUT BETRAYAL
Ben Cohen’s ex-wife Abbie Bray has been vocal about her feelings of betrayal after he dumped her for Kristina Rihanoff.
After splitting from him in 2014, she told The Sun On Sunday a year later: “My husband, who I was with for 23 years, loved unconditionally and was completely devoted in every way, left me for a f***ing Russian dancer.
“The last two years have been the most traumatic thing that has ever happened to me. He did dirt on me. I want people to know.
“I don’t want to cause stress or further damage by stirring things up. But I’m just trying to recover from what has been the most horrific period of my life.”
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