John Whaite Quietly Marries His Partner Of Over 15 Years, Paul Atkins
John Whaite
Former Strictly Come Dancing finalist John Whaite has revealed he and his partner of more than 15 years, Paul Atkins, recently tied the knot in New York.
On Thursday evening, John shared a low-key Instagram post confirming that he and Paul had celebrated their “big day in the Big Apple” alongside a series of black-and-white wedding snaps.
Elaborating more on his Instagram story, the Great British Bake Off winner shared that he and Paul had “decided to take advantage of the spouse ISA allowance”.
John Whaite and his new husband Paul Atkins during an appearance on Lorraine last year
John first rose to prominence on the third series of Bake Off back in 2012.
In the decade that followed, John enjoyed a media career that saw him fronting cooking segments on a variety of different shows, before signing up for Strictly in 2021.
On the show, he and Johannes Radebe made history as the first pairing made up of two men, and the first same-sex dancing partnership to make it all the way to the Strictly final.
More recently, John spoke candidly about how his time on Strictly – and his feelings for Johannes – had affected his relationship with Paul, to whom he had been engaged since 2017.
The pair subsequently “spent some time apart” shortly after John’s time on Strictly came to an end, before reuniting, which John wrote about in his 2023 memoir Dancing On Eggshells.
While John has admitted he and Johannes are no longer close, which is a deliberate decision on his part, the Strictly pro was among the first to comment on his one-time dance partner’s post, writing: “Massive congratulations.”
John Whaite and Johannes Radebe performing together on the Strictly tour in 2022
John’s post was accompanied by a quote from Justice Anthony Kennedy which he gave when equal marriage was made law in the US just under a decade ago.
The quote reads: “No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were.
“As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage.
“Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilisation’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.”
