Gemma Atkinson and Strictly's Gorka Marquez to buy house in Spain

Gemma Atkinson and Strictly's Gorka Marquez are considering splashing out on a home in Spain.

The couple, who fell in love while Atkinson was competing on Strictly now, have two young children together: Mia, four, and Thiago, who is one in July. The couple have been raising their two children at their home in Manchester.

As well as being a professional on Strictly, Marquez has been working as a judge on the Spanish version of the show which is filmed in Madrid. The Strictly star has been flying between Madrid and Manchester every weekend so he could still see his family while working.

So buying a house in Spain seems to be the next natural move for the couple, plus it would mean Marquez's parents were only a drive away. Atkinson lifted the lid on their plans to have a "home from home" in a new interview and she noted the benefits it would have on the children's Spanish as well as her own.

She told The Mirror: "We want to get somewhere so that we always have a home from home. It would be nice to have somewhere that I can just take them with my family. It would help me with mine and their Spanish, and Gorka’s parents could drive down.

"It’s something we’re hoping to do by the end of this year. We love Spain."

Gemma and Gorka: Life Behind the Lens

Their reality family documentary series Gemma and Gorka: Life Behind the Lens is returning for a second season. It's no secret the family are spinning a lot of plates and Atkinson said they were enjoying the chaos. She added: "I think we’re doing alright. Everyone said twice the stress, twice the exhaustion, but it’s also twice the love and the lovely chaos."

In the latest season, viewers will see Atkinson prepare to go back to work after maternity leave. Having penned a children's book Dogs Don't Dance, she's also busy promoting it. It was filmed just as Marquez finished his time on Strictly 2023 and he's now busy throwing himself into other work projects.

Announcing the second season, the couple shared their excitement. They said in a statement: "We’re excited to be back on your screens with W for our second series. The messages we received, and are still receiving from the first series, have blown us away. We’re glad so many families can relate to ours and the crazy, wonderful, and exhausting world of parenthood!"

Strictly 2024

Recently, Atkinson appeared to reveal Marquez would be back on Strictly 2024 in the autumn. The mum-of-two let slip about Strictly Come Dancing when she was discussing the couple's childcare arrangements on social media.

At the time, she wrote on Instagram: "Depending on Gorka's partner and whether he has a partner, depending on where they're based, he doesn't know where he is. All the childcare lands on my family because obviously all his family are in Spain." After the comment attracted a lot of attention, Atkinson deleted the Instagram.

Last series the professional dancer was eliminated in week three of the show with his partner Nikita Kanda. Marquez has starred on Strictly since 2016 when he was first partnered with EastEnders actor Tameka Empson. Over the years, he has reached the final three times with partners Alexandra Burke, Maisie Smith and Helen Skelton. The dancer has yet to win the Glitterball trophy.

Gemma and Gorka's wedding plans

Atkinson and Marquez's worlds changed forever when they met on the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom in 2017. The couple got engaged on Valentine's Day in 2021. They have been engaged for three years now but they're not rushing down the aisle just yet and would like to wait until their son Thiago can walk down the aisle. Atkinson detailed her vision for their wedding in a new interview.

She told HELLO! magazine: "The fewer people, the better. Ideally, I'd wear a trouser suit, but that might not go down well."

She added: "I'd like to wait until Thiago can walk down the aisle," says Gemma, 39. "We've got this perfect life together, with the babies, the house and the dogs, so we don't feel any pressure to get married just for a certificate.

"We were thinking that we could go to a registry office and do it with just the two of us and then have a massive party. But then, as that got closer, I was thinking that I'd regret not having my sister and niece as bridesmaids, so we were like: 'No, let's not rush. Let's wait until the perfect time and do it then.'"

The couple haven't been rushing to get married because they are very happy how they are. "It’s just finding the time really. We’ve had lots of people saying, ‘You clearly don’t want to get married if you haven’t done it yet!’ But I think it’s because we’re so happy with how it is," she explained to OK! magazine.

Read more

• Strictly's Gorka and Gemma confirm series 2 of their reality show (Digital Spy, 2-min read)

• Gemma Atkinson reveals ‘really intimate’ wedding plans with Strictly’s Gorka Marquez (Evening Standard, 2-min read)