Shayne Ward’s wife, Sophie Austin, appears to have waded into the ongoing row surrounding this past weekend’s Strictly Come Dancing results.
On Sunday evening, it was confirmed Ward and pro partner Nancy Xu would lose their spot in the contest following a dance-off with Wynne Evans and Katya Jones.
BBC Strictly: Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu lost the dance-off to Wynne Evans and Katya Jones
BBC
After the Strictly page shared a clip of her husband’s farewell, one follower blasted: “Wrong decision in my book!”
Seemingly siding with the fan’s outrage, Austin replied to the comment: “Love you,” followed by a love heart emoji.
On her own page, Austin shared a snap of Xu and Ward together with the accompanying caption: “Broken-hearted. I love you both @nancy_xu @shaynetward.”
Meanwhile, Austin also showed her appreciation for Xu after the Chinese pro dancer penned a lengthy tribute to her Strictly partner after their exit.
BBC Strictly: Sophie Austin reacted to the dance-off results on Instagram
Xu typed on Instagram that Ward had “already been a winner since our very first day rehearsals together”, lauding his humility, “kindness, and respect for me” as “beyond then everything”.
“To get to know you as a person and to share Strictly journey with you this year, it’s my highlight of the year,” she continued before touching upon the backlash Ward faced throughout the series because of his supposed “cocky” attitude.
She commented: “I’m so sorry that the whole journey you (were) criticized more than you should, and people forget that you are coming from 0! To put up every Saturday night show like you did, you should deserve something better!”
Xu went on to admit she was “gutted” by the result and even paid tribute to Austin: “For the rockstar of this partnership for the whole journey @sophieaustin84, I want to say thank you for always being there for us, and having the believed for us!
“I know sometimes for a journey like this, for the loved ones even harder, but you were every step with us and supporting us! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING AND LET ME KNOW YOUR BEAUTIFUL FAMILY.” (sic)
A number of Strictly stars rushed to show their support for Xu, including Austin who replied to the post: “I adore you @nancy_xuxi you are a true diamond.
“Thank you for being not just a teacher but a friend to Shayne. We are in each others lives now forever and we will continue to make great memories.”
During Sunday’s results show, Ward told the audience and BBC viewers: “I just want to say, you guys up there [the other contestants in the Clauditorium] are a dream. Every single day, coming in here and seeing you guys you helped me so much.
He continued: “I want to say thank you to the audience as well, for always being amazing for us all. This has been, honestly, one of the best things I’ve ever done.
“I’m proud that I made it to eight weeks as a novice dancer. A massive thank you goes to this incredible human right next to me [Xu], who has put so much fire in me and made me believe that I can actually achieve more if I let myself go.
“I’m sorry it didn’t work out to the end, but I’m super proud that I got to meet you [to Xu] and dance with you, so thank you.”
Xu weighed in: “I’m beyond proud of this dance partnership. Shayne from week one until this point, every second you put your feet on the dancefloor you improved yourself.
“You’re a deep thinker, you always doubt yourself, you never believed yourself, but I never ever questioned you.
“When I watch you, I feel proud because I’ve turned someone who has never ever danced in their life into an amazing dancer. You should believe in yourself. I adored this partnership.”
