AMY Tinkler’s ex-boyfriend today reveals how Dancing on Ice helped ruin their “perfect love story.”
Musician Max Cinnamon says the ITV contest forced them to spend months apart and made the retired gymnast so busy they barely had time to speak on the phone.
But Max denies they fell for the notorious curse and says he never suspected Amy, 21, of cheating with her dance partner Joe Johnson before they called it quits last month.
In an exclusive interview, the 20-year-old revealed: “Amy and I were this perfect love story at the start.
“I think we came into each other’s lives at exactly the right moment, as we helped each other a lot and used to spend so much time together.
“But she joined Dancing On Ice just before Christmas and that’s what made it so difficult.
“The rules were she was only allowed to bubble with her dance partner – and I wasn’t allowed into that bubble.
“We didn’t want to break the rules but when you are not seeing each other over Christmas and the New Year it becomes a weight and it doesn’t feel natural.
“We were trying to keep in touch over the phone and through Facetime but it just wasn’t good for us having a long distance relationship that way.
“In the final few weeks, I was busy with my exams and she was doing prep and interviews and photoshoots and meeting everyone, so we barely had time to speak to each other.
“We broke up just before Valentine’s and my birthday last month (February) and it was tough, I was heartbroken.
“I can’t say that I entirely blame Dancing on Ice for what happened as there were other issues involved, like my course and Covid-19, but it was a major factor.”
Max and Amy once seemed like the perfect couple from the loved-up photos they posted on their Instagram accounts.
They met while Max was taking an acting course in London in January last year and became so head over heels that Amy would regularly fly out to see him in the town where he was previously based in the South of France.
Max moved to London in October to study Music Production and Sound Engineering at the Abbey Road Institute.
He hoped this would lead to him seeing even more of Durham-based Amy, who retired from athletics in 2019.
But with the second lockdown starting in November and the former Team GB star joining DOI the following month, things did not pan out as planned.
London-born Max got over the split by spending a month in Croatia on business – a welcome distraction from the break-up.
And he has just been given the good news that the Tick-Tock song he co-wrote with Croatian singer Albina will be part of her bid to win the next Eurovision contest in Rotterdam, Holland, in May.
The catchy hit is number one in Croatia and has already had over three million views, with Max and Albina hopeful that it could secure them Eurovision victory this year.
Amy, meanwhile, was eliminated from Dancing on Ice on Valentine’s Day and later complained that her painful split from Max was a factor behind her early exit.
She said: “’I was voted out by the public, and that’s the way these shows go. But the reason we decided not to do Press was because it was Valentine’s Week, love week, on the show… and I had just split with my boyfriend.”
Max added: “I was over the moon for Amy when she made it on Dancing on Ice because I know she really wanted to be on that show.
“I actually spoke to Joe a few times on Facetime and they have a best friend relationship.
“I know Joe was happy with his partner and still is.
“I know looking from the outside you will think, there must be some sort of jealousy going on. It was never an issue for me.
“I watched her on Dancing On Ice and I thought she was great, she deserved to go far.
“Amy and I are not talking right now but, to be honest, I see her in a good place and laughing and really enjoying life and that makes me happy.”
