The reason why Strictly Come Dancing’s Pasha Kovalev left the show is actually really sad

Fair though.

Yesterday, it was confirmed that Pasha Kovalev would be leaving Strictly Come Dancing after eight years. And apparently, Pasha's girlfriend, Rachel Riley, is the main reason he decided to leave the show. It has been reported that Rachel said her boyfriend was underpaid for his work. A Strictly insider said: “Rachel is adamant Pasha is being paid far less than his hours deserve." “Strictly has a particularly gruelling schedule and when you weigh that up against his pay packet, she feels it’s not worth it." “Pasha isn’t one of the more unionist dancers who push back at producers when they’re working 18 hour days. “He just sees it as part of the job.” There was also talk of the Strictly "curse" and Rachel's fears about it. The curse being that professional dancers often couple up with their celebrity partners while on the show. In fact, that is exactly how Pasha and Rachel met - so we kind of understand the fears. The couple competed in the 2013 season of the show, and got together shortly after. Rachel ended her 15-month marriage to multi-millionaire James Gilbert, three months into her time on Strictly. Last November, Rachel admitted that she disliked watching her bae, Pasha Kovalev, dancing with other ladies. And to be fair, we don't blame her. When she was asked about the curse, Rachel said: “It’s left its mark. It just makes me feel nervous — so I make myself busy when it’s on. I leave Pasha to it.” The things people do for love, eh?