Strictly Come Dancing's Tasha Ghouri's Love Island boyfriend, dancer 'ex' and why being deaf is her 'superpower'

Tasha Ghouri found fame - and true love - in Love Island and is now stepping onto the dancefloor for Strictly Come Dancing. The model, author, influencer and activist has had a busy and varied career since her appearance on the ITV dating show in 2022.

Love Island's first deaf contestant, she met partner Andrew Le Page in the villa and the couple have gone from strength to strength. On their return home from Spain, they moved in together and earlier this year became home owners, picking up the keys to a stunning countryside property.

The star is passionate about raising awareness for the deaf community and since Love Island has put her fame - and social media following - to good use. Strictly will no doubt propel her profile to new heights, giving her chance to spread her message to a whole new audience tuning in on BBC One on Saturday nights.

READ MORE: Strictly Come Dancing fans dealt blow before live show as BBC confirm 'disappointing' news

In Strictly Come Dancing 2024 she has been paired with Aljaž Škorjanec, who is returning to the show as a pro after a two-year hiatus. He is married to fellow professional dancer Janette Manrara and said he took the break “to be a great dad and a great husband”.

Early life in Yorkshire

Tasha was born Natasha Amber Ghouri to parents Tarek and Nicky on August 11, 1998 and grew up in Thirsk in North Yorkshire. She has a brother called Alexander and a step-sister called Sienna.

Her parents divorced when she was eight but Tasha has said the family remains close-knit, despite now being spread across the world. Her dad now lives in Spain while her mum remains in Yorkshire and her brother lives in Australia.

Tasha was born deaf but has said her parents found out when she was 12 months old. She has had a cochlear implant since the age of five, which was re-implanted when she was 16. She recalled: "I had to have an operation for a whole new implant. I do remember what it was like from that moment, everything sounded robotic. It was a weird experience, but I also do enjoy being deaf.

"I love it, I can have that peace and quiet as well if I need, I get a great sleep. But it was definitely challenging as well. Having to deal with a cochlear implant. You get concentration fatigue, and it can be quite overwhelming and a lot of over stimulation."

She also had speech therapy as a child and says that she still struggles sometimes, but said being deaf is "part of me". While growing up she she attended a dance school in Thirsk run by teacher Hannah Tweddle. Ms Tweddle told the BBC in 2022: "When she was younger, we didn't really make too many changes for her. She could hear enough and with very bassy music she picked up the rhythm and the sound really easily. She was good."

Life before Love Island

After finishing her education, she moved to London for her dance career. She said she had to make the move because "London was the place to be, it was a big move going from sheeps and cows and fields to the big city".

She worked as a freelance dancer behind a bar to pay her bills and featured in a music video for the Sleepwalkrs and MNEK track, More Than Words.

She gained additional recognition after appearing in an ASOS campaign for earrings, which included a cochlear implant wearer and received commendation from several charities, Yorkshire Live reported.

She told the Working Hard, Hardly Working podcast she applied for Love Island after nearly getting onto another show, Too Hot To Handle. She then went through the casting process for Love Island, saying she was single at the time and felt she had nothing to lose.

She added: "When I got the phone call I was like sh**. I had mixed emotions that day, I was like this is not real."

A lifelong love for dancing and Strictly 'dream come true'

Tasha has spoken of how she had dance training from the age of five and "falling in love" with it. She told Signature: "I put steps up on the TV, I copied their dance moves, put on little dresses.

"That’s kind of where I started, so my parents said let’s go to a dance class and actually music really helped me with my deafness because I can hear music very differently, I can feel it. And that’s why I fell in love with dancing so much. It’s a safe space to be free and enjoy myself."

She said she also dabbled in modelling, including for Asos and other fashion brands but added: "I was self-employed before and that’s kind of what I was doing, but basically, I was a dancer".

Previously Strictly contestants have faced criticism after it emerged they had formal dance training before the show. Tasha is no exception but hit back on Instagram, telling fans: "I've not danced for quite a few years, since Love Island my career is so different.

"It's such a different dance style, I may actually not be good at it, like ballet - I'm not good at ballet. I'm trained in commercial street style it's going to be very hard but I'm excited for a challenge."

And of appearing on Strictly, Tasha told the BBC: “Pinch me, I can't believe I'm going to be on Strictly Come Dancing. I’ve been watching the show since I was little – it's a firm Ghouri family favourite - so this is a total dream come true. I know it's going to be an unforgettable experience and I hope to represent and make everyone proud out on that dancefloor."

Dealing with bullies online and Love Island

Tasha previously told how she was targeted by online bullies when she was just 14, receiving a wave of abusive messages. In an interview she once described them as "keyboard warriors".

She said she was attacked via anonymous question platform Ask.FM and was sent messages telling her to "get cancer and die". She appeared on BBC News with her dad in 2012 and told how she fought back.

And in her Love Island days Tasha was at the centre of a bullying row after a "Snog, Marry, Pie" challenge, in which three of the boys pied her in the face. More than 1,500 viewers complained to Ofcom citing bullying behaviour from the boys - especially Luca Bish and Dami Hope, who later apologised.

She told the Sun: "I knew I was gonna get pies. I was ready for it, but it was more about the comments after that. There’s a level of banter and there’s [that].

She added: "I was standing there thinking: ‘Keep your head held high and don’t show a reaction'. There’s a clip and you can still see it in my face. It was a lot. I felt backed into a corner.

"It’s such an intense environment and hard to escape. You’re stuck in there together. I was ready to walk out."

Deafness is Tasha's 'superpower'

Tasha has spoken of how she is proud to use her deafness to raise awareness and her hopes of helping young people to become more confident.

She said: "I love my deafness. I love my cochlear implant. It’s something that will stay with me forever. All I want to do is kind of help other people and inspire other people to do what you want to do and help them embrace their disability.

"So, for me, it’s my superpower and my dad is actually the one who said it to me, “that is your superpower”. That’s where I kind of got it from and it stuck with me since."

She has also worked with the Department for Education to get British Sign Language introduced into schools as a GCSE choice, calling it "super exciting". She said: "I hope that people will take this opportunity to learn sign language and to make deaf people feel more included in conversations.

"I wish that I had the option back at school, because I had to stop using BSL and I was forced into using speech around people."

Away from her campaigning work, she released her debut novel, Hits Different, in June. Her second, Your Super Power, is due to be released in 2025. She also hosts the Superpowers with Tasha podcast.

Strictly romance with Giovanni and Love Island 'soulmate' Andrew Le Page

Before Love Island, Tasha is understood to have had a brief relationship with former Strictly professional dancer Giovanni Pernice after they connected on Instagram. However their romance was short-lived and she's since called it "ancient history".

She told The Sun: "I've met up with him a few times. But that was years ago. We are not in touch now, this is like ancient history. I’m so happy with Andrew, and he’s my future, so I don’t want to talk about the past."

Tasha and Love Island co-star Andrew Le Page have been loved-up since meeting on the show in 2022. She told OK! he is her "soulmate", saying: "It’s so nice because now I look at him and I know I’m going to marry him. There’s no one else that I’m going to marry. He is genuinely my soulmate."

However she says they are "not in a rush" progress to marriage and children and that "we’re living in the moment and when it happens, it happens". And of the secret to their success as a couple she added: "I always say communication. Coming off a show like that, you get things thrown at you left, right, and centre. You get opinions and you have to deal with whole career changes.

"With me and Andrew, we have always communicated. We just gel. We’re not really argumentative people, but if we do argue, we get it sorted straightaway. We never go to sleep on a bad note."

Her dad Tarek gave his verdict on her new partner while she was still in the Love Island villa - and he more than approved. Hello! reported that he referred to Andrew as "son-in-law material" in a tweet that was later deleted.

He also tweeted a video of the couple sitting by the firepit along with the caption: "It's real. It always was. It just needed time. Thank you public for putting them together in the first place."

The importance of representation on Strictly

Tasha is Strictly's second deaf contestant after Rose Ayling-Ellis and she told OK! it was "amazing to have our voices" on the show. She added: "It feels like it’s slowly getting there, but I think we just need more representation as a whole, not just for the deaf community, but all of the disabled community. My dream is to watch Love Island one day and see just a completely diverse and inclusive mix of people."