'Strictly Come Dancing' star Amy Dowden marries after delaying wedding for two years

Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden has married her partner Ben Jones after the COVID-19 pandemic delayed their wedding by two years.

The 31-year-old professional dancer — who had originally been due to tie the knot in July 2020 — exchanged vows in a ceremony held on the coast of her home country of Wales.

Dowden told Hello! magazine: "It was a stunning venue. I always knew I wanted to get married in Wales. The day was a celebration of Ben and me."

Read more: 'Strictly' dancer Karen Hauer ties the knot for the third time

The wedding was held in a five-star venue in the countryside of the Gower Peninsula, with fellow Strictly dancer Dianne Buswell acting as bridesmaid.

Dowden and Jones, who became engaged on New Year’s Eve in 2017, shared a joint stag and hen party in May with their friends and family.

And in March Dowden shared a picture of herself trying on wedding gowns on Instagram, saying: "Although I was supposed to get married 2020 and everything was organised and ready. Now it’s creeping up on me and I feel totally unorganised and panicking."

In 2020 Dowden took part in a documentary for the BBC documentary Strictly Amy: Crohn's and Me, in which she spoke openly about living with Crohn’s disease.

The dancer was 19 when she was diagnosed with the condition which leaves her suffering bouts of chronic pain and requiring hospital admission.

She said: “Dancing has pulled me through my Crohn's but it's a battle. I live in fear that what I love the most could be taken away. And I've been more ill this year than I have been in a long time.”

Crohn’s is a inflammatory bowel disease which can develop at any age and the causes are not fully known.

Dowden first developed symptoms aged 14 but was not diagnosed for several years. While there is currently no cure, the disease can be managed with medication, diet and exercise.

The Welsh ballroom dancer – who was partnered with Tom Fletcher in the 2021 series of the celebrity dance competition – revealed her body can experience extreme flare-ups at any time.

She said: “To the public watching me with all our make-up, fake tan, glitz, glamour and spotlights, it's a different world. I don't think they could ever imagine this could be me the next day.

“I knew things weren't right but your body goes: ‘Right you've got to get through this, you don't want to let anyone down, you can do this." And you can just push yourself through anything.'

Read more: Amy Dowden was 'carried off stage' amid Crohn's Disease flare-up on 'Strictly' tour

“I can't think of how many times I've been in hospital. It's got to be at least over 100 times. When I was 18 or 19 it was every month at least for a week."

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