Janette Manrara and Aljaž Škorjanec are preparing for a major life change ahead of their first child's arrival: moving out of London to settle in Cheshire. The couple, who recently announced they are expecting their first baby together, plan to leave their flat in the capital for a greener, slower-paced life up north.
Aljaž told Hello! magazine: "It's something both of us have craved for a while. The pace of life in London is too fast and we couldn’t see us functioning here as a family. It’s so green up north, it reminds me of Slovenia." The move will also bring them closer to fellow Strictly Come Dancing stars Gorka Marquez and his fiancée Gemma Atkinson, who already live in Cheshire. Janette said: "It will be so nice to have Uncle Gorka and Auntie Gemma nearby."
The couple announced their pregnancy after two years of fertility struggles. Janette, who presents Strictly's spin-off show It Takes Two, feared her dream of becoming a mum was slipping away as she approached her 40th birthday. After consulting doctors, she arranged to start IVF treatment but made the shock discovery she was already pregnant.
Sharing the news, Janette said: "For the past couple of years we hadn’t been using protection but nothing was happening, so we thought IVF was the next best thing for us to do. I turn 40 later this year and the NHS offers really good services to women under 40. The doctor said that as soon as I got my period we would start injections, but my period never came." She broke the news to Aljaž by giving him a positive pregnancy test after confirming with her doctor.
