The Hits Radio host has opened up about family life with the dancer and didn’t waste too much time in calling out his tradition, which she branded ‘rank’

Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez (Image: Gorka Marquez Instagram)

Gemma Atkinson has been heard opening up about family life with Gorka Marquez and didn’t waste too much time in calling out his tradition, which she branded ‘rank’.

The pair fell in love in the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom back in 2017. The loved-up couple recently celebrated their seventh anniversary went ‘official’ with their relationship in early 2018 after competing in the BBC One dance contest.

They were paired with different partners, with Gemma making the final alongside pro dancer Aljaz Skorjanec while Gorka also made it to the end of the competition with celebrity dance partner Alexandra Burke.

The actress and presenter and the Spanish professional dancer later got engaged in 2021 and are now proud parents to two children – daughter Mia, five, and one-year-old son Thiago.

But there is one thing that seemingly doesn’t impress Gemma too much that Gorka does. Speaking on the Parenting Hell podcast, co-host Josh Widdicombe asked if there were an cultural parenting differences between her and Gorka, who hails from Spain, and mentioned how Christmas may be different.

To which the Bury-born star said: “They celebrate all the way into January. They have the three kings who visit in January, so they’re off for a long time… So when we’re all going back to work, his mum and dad are like, ‘no’, they’re still living their best life.”

Gemma and Gorka with their two children, Mia and Thiago(Image: Gorka Marquez Instagram)

Asked by Rob Beckett if he brings many Spanish traditions to Greater Manchester at Christmas, Gemma admitted: “What he does, and it’s rank, I find it disgusting, he has every year… The Spanish are obsessed with their ham, aren’t they? The proper ham.

“So he has a pig leg. I’m not joking! It’s the thigh, it’s got the hoof on it with little bits of hair and he has it on a stand. He has it up in the kitchen and every now and again, he walks past it, hacks a bit off and just stands eating it every Christmas.”

She added: “It’s awful. I don’t eat meat, so you can imagine me literally… My uncle’s vegan so when he comes round, we had to move it. I said, ‘Clive’s coming around, move that pig’s foot!’ So he put it in the utlity and utility room just stunk of meat.”

Another thing Gemma and Gorka disagreed on originally was the name of their son, Thiago, which is Portuguese and pays homage to Gorka’s mum’s roots.

Gemma said: “I wanted Thomas. My dad’s middle name was Thomas. But then Gorka said he’ll get ‘Tommy Marquez’, ‘He’ll sound like he’ll just batter everyone!’ So it was his mum, she said the name Thiago and I said that’s fine, as long as we can shorten it to Tio because with my accent, ‘Tiago’, it’s a bit…”

The former Hollyoaks and Emmerdale star also spoke about how Gorka has periods where he is never home thanks to his work commitments, including Strictly.

She said: “He’s never here, yeah. It’s Strictly from July to December, if they get a partner, they’re based where their partner is in the week. Obviously London at the weekend.”

And she does have a preference when it comes to his celebrity dance partners on the hit dance show. “So every time the line-up’s announced, all I do, I think, I don’t care who it is, I just Google where they live. If they’re in Manchester, I’m like, great,” she admitted.