ITALIAN stallion Giovanni Pernice is a hit with the ladies both on and off the dancefloor – but when it comes to relationships, he struggles to make them go the distance.
This week it emerged the Strictly Come Dancing hunk, 31, has split from Love Island star Maura Higgins, 30.
Split rumours were rife after the pair deleted any trace of each other on social media, and it later emerged Maura is devastated by the break-up.
The pair are believed to have ended their four-month romance two weeks ago after heart-to-heart talks, during which the dancer admitted he “isn’t ready to settle down”.
A source told HOAR: “Maura didn’t see this coming and is finding it very difficult to come to terms with. She genuinely thought Gio was the one.”
The couple teased their romance for weeks before confirming they were an item in July – just two months after Maura‘s split from her ex Christopher Taylor.
Since joining Strictly in 2015, Giovanni has dated a string of sizzling women, with all of his public romances involving gushing posts and PDAs on social media.
But despite the Sicilian native showering his girls with affection, gifts and love letters, he’s yet to settle down.
So what’s going wrong for Giovanni? Here we take a look at his failed romances with some of showbusiness’ most glamorous ladies.
Georgia May Foote
Giovanni started dating Georgia in 2015 after they were paired together on Strictly Come Dancing.
When she joined the show she was dating Coronation Street co-star Sean Ward but they split just before she made the final.
Giovanni confirmed their romance after the show ended and the pair posted a series of loved-up snaps.
At the time Georgia told the Daily Mail: “Gio is everything to me. I’m 100 per cent happy with Gio. He’s smitten and I’m the same. We trust each other. We fell in love as friends before anything happened.”
But their romance didn’t go the distance and they split in 2016 with both parties claiming there was no one else involved.
Georgia issued a statement on Twitter which read: “Although it was not an easy decision to make sometimes you realise that it is better to be friends and this is one of those times.
“We both have very busy work schedules for the rest of the year so we are both going to focus on our upcoming work projects and we wish each other well in the future.”
Jessica Wright
Giovanni’s next love interest was Jessica after they allegedly met through her brother Mark when he was on the show.
He was first linked to the ex-TOWIE star, 36, in November 2017 when they were seen enjoying a theatre date in the West End.
Once again he posted a series of loved up snaps on social media, but they parted ways six months later.
Shortly before their split the pro dancer claimed he wanted to settle down.
He said: “Of course I want to settle, darling, I’m Italian. I want to have a big family, it’s just not the time. I’m 27 years old – I really want to dance as much as I can.”
At the time sources claimed Giovanni was struggling to cope with Jess’ level of fame.
But their break-up appeared to turn bitter when the pair were spotted rowing at the Pride of Britain awards in 2018.
Jess later insisted their argument was just “passion” and that the couple hadn’t seen each other since their split.
Laura Whitmore
Giovanni was linked to Love Island host Laura, 36, back in 2016 but both have denied having a relationship.
Shortly after the romance rumours it was said the pair hated each other after spending 12 hours a day rehersing.
Speaking about it back in December 2016, Laura said: “He was a great dance partner and we trained together pretty much every day.
“It’s full on, and that is it. I wish there was more to it but that’s it. We don’t love each other. We don’t hate each other. We like each other.”
Katie McGlynn
Giovanni was linked to Corrie star Katie, 28, in 2017 which got tongues wagging again this year when she signed up for Strictly.
Their alleged romance came just after Giovanni split from Georgia but Katie has denied it.
She said: “I was quite upset about it because I’d not done anything. It was blown up out of all proportion. We weren’t dating.
“I don’t think he’s my type. I’m sure he’s lovely but that’s why I was surprised with the stories. People were clutching at straws.
“Nothing happened. I’ve met him, it was at an awards party and people just decided we were dating because we were seen talking.”
Luba Mushtuk
Giovanni was rumoured to be dating fellow pro Luba, 31, after she posted a video of them dancing captioned “@pernicegiovann1 you are ‘My Man’”.
It’s been alleged that the pair dated in 2017 but Luba has publicly denied it.
She posted a headline about their relationship and claimed “I had no idea.”
A source told the Daily Mail that Luba was jealous of Gio’s connection with celeb partner Debbie McGee.
They said: “Luba and Giovanni are together, but she doesn’t like Debbie because of their bond – she feels how much Gio cares for her.”
Ashley Roberts
Giovanni didn’t take long after his split from Jess to romance Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts.
The pair had a series of secret dates after meeting on Strictly – though Ashley was partnered with Gorka Marquez.
Once again Giovanni posted a bunch of loved up snaps on social media and gushed about his latest squeeze.
He seemed serious about the singer, 40, as he flew to have Christmas with her and her family in the USA.
Captioning one snap on Instagram, he wrote: “I never thought anyone would ever make me smile, laugh and steal my heart as fast as you did!! I love you amore.”
But after 14 months together the pair called it quits and deleted all trace of each other from social media (sound familiar?).
Giovanni announced their split on his social media and insisted the pair would stay friends.
Maura Higgins
The Strictly hunk’s latest romantic conquest was Irish stunner Maura Higgins.
They teased their relationship on social media before finally going public with a loved up picture on Maura’s Instagram captioned “I’m yours”.
Giovanni had been secretly dating the brunette beauty for weeks before going public in July this year.
They were pictured out together in Blackpool and Maura attended the launch night of his show.
It all seemed to be going so well, as Maura and Giovanni opted to move in together to make seeing each other around his hectic Strictly schedule easier.
But things appeared to quickly turn sour, with Giovanni ending their relationship, leaving Maura “blind-sided”.
A source told HOAR: “It’s not easy going out with someone who’s on Strictly Come Dancing, with all the history there.
“Plus, Maura had to deal with the fact one Katie McGlynn, who Gio has been linked to, was on the show.
“But she was hugely supportive of Gio and is utterly heartbroken things have come to an end.
“But Maura is a strong girl and will brush herself down and bounce back.”
