THE pressure of a crippling £1million debt was the straw that broke the back of Kristina Rihanoff and Ben Cohen's relationship.
But those with an intimate knowledge of the couple tell The Sun tensions have bubbled under the surface ever since the pair fell in love on the Strictly dance floor.
And although Abby has since found love with her new man David Warner, and has carved out a successful career as a photographer, it appears ghosts of the past still linger.
Those close to Kristina claimed that tensions harked back to the very start of her relationship with Ben.
The pair initially grew close when they were partnered together on the eleventh series of the BBC dancing show.
Not long after their turn on the dancefloor, Ben left Abby for Kristina in 2014.
Heartbroken, Abby told The Sun on Sunday at the time that she referred to Kristina "that f***ing Russian," when talking about how the split had ruined her life.
Those close to Kristina told The Sun she was upset by the remark, and despite Abby later apologising for what she said – they claim the comment became a "painful memory".
"To be tarnished with the 'other woman' brush was particularly hard for Kristina," a friend says.
"Her relationship with Ben didn't start until his marriage was over but to see Abby coming for her at the start of their relationship so hard was painful.
"Even though Abby later apologised for what she had said, it was tough for Kristina to hear herself being called out in public.
"She said she had spoken with Ben about him not coming out to publicly defend them, naturally it led to some arguments.
"Kristina herself eventually came out and publicly said that it was normal for people to meet at work, just like they did.
"It was a sore point for her."
As Kristina, 47, and Ben, 46, moved on with their lives – welcoming their first child in 2016 – friends claimed his cordial friendship with Abby, the mother of his two children, appeared to lead to tensions.
In 2019, Abby spoke out publicly again about the breakdown of her union with Ben.
BEN COHEN AND KRISTINA RHIANOFF'S ROCKY RELATIONSHIP
The couple had met when they were partnered for the 11th series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2013, and fell in love.
This was despite Cohen being married at the time to Abby Bray.
Cohen and Rihanoff share daughter Mila, and had planned to tie the knot in Tuscany or Oxfordshire.
He told Hello! Magazine in 2023: "Over the last nine years we've been through the wringer.
"To support each other through difficult times in business is the ultimate test in a relationship.
"I've watched her flourish, from her becoming a mum to growing as a businesswoman, and it has strengthened our bond."
The pair previously revealed they got engaged during a sun-soaked Maldives getaway in 2022.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Abby opened up and said: "I'm not healed, I'll never get over it but you just have to.
"I spent four years moping around crying — it's poisonous. I spent a fortune on psychics because I wanted an answer but you won't find one and you're always asking why.
"It's the worst feeling. I look back to when it first happened to me.
"I can't even mentally go there. I will never get over what happened.
But I've learnt to cope with it and I've developed strategies that have helped me to try to mend myself."
Those close to Kristina claimed that the past being dragged up continued to add pressure to their relationship.
They add: "Kristina wanted to show the world she and Ben were a Strictly romance success story.
"She was writing a new story for them.
"She may have met Ben under a cloud of scrutiny but she was proud they'd make their relationship work and she wanted the world to know that they were happy.
"To have Abby speaking about the past again was hard. It dragged everything back up publicly and was painful for her.
"As Ben and Abby always remained cordial for their family, it was naturally hard for Kristina to have to try and play happy families while her relationship was being discussed in a public setting."
Kristina and Ben later went into business together, with Kristina also working as a dance instructor.
Kristina said the pair had "invested everything we've ever had" into their company Soo Yoga, after turning her passion for the exercise into a business.
However after the pandemic hit, they ran into serious trouble.
Their financial difficulties were laid bare in public during a court appearance last September, when Kristina was caught driving her £30,000 Audi without insurance.
Kristina sobbed as Ben took to the stand and admitted human error on his part meant Kristina had been driving without insurance – meaning she was facing a driving ban which would be financially devastating for her business as a dance instructor.
As Ben spoke to the court, he revealed the pair were fighting to save their 12-year relationship, admitting he was crippled with debts from their businesses, including their joint yoga venture.
Paperwork reveals that debts accrued by their companies added up to £1million.
Their Soo Yoga Group ran up debts of £488,470 and another of their fitness firms – Yoga Wellbeing Limited – had debts of £63,000.
Their business Soo Greens Limited also racked up £54,000 of debts and fitness company Beyond Wellbeing was dissolved in 2022 with debts of £22,000.
Ben also quit as a company director of struggling web firm Silicon Networks in 2020 and the company is now in liquidation with debts of £275,000, including a £98,000 tax bill owed to HMRC.
Speaking in court last year, Ben became emotional as he spoke about the realities of the financial crisis they were facing.
He said: "I get up every day and I fight not to lose everything – to lose my cars and my house and my relationship. I'm so overdrawn."
When asked about the strain it had put on their relationship, Ben said: "We're still living together. We're in it financially.
"We're in business together so the problem is that we opened the business before Covid and we got the worst severities of it and in all honestly this is just another problem for me to deal with.
"I've got credit cards that are overdrawn. I'm overdrawn in both accounts. We have got a business debt because of Covid. It's just another problem."
Following the court case, where Kristina was spared a driving ban due to "exceptional hardship", the pair put their Northamptonshire home up for sale.
But rather than choosing to limp on, the pair have now split and are trying to move on with their lives.
"There is only so much one couple can take," a friend explained.
"The financial problems Kristina and Ben were facing pushed them to the brink and it has been incredibly stressful for them.
"This was what properly broke them and ended the relationship.
"But their union hasn't always been a bed of roses because of how they got together.
"With the amount of public jibes sent in their direction, their friends have commented that they think it's amazing their relationship lasted for as long as it did."
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