EXCLUSIVE: Karen Hauer’s estranged husband Jordan Wyn-Jones insists Strictly Star engagement ring was gifted to him by his late mother… after father claims it was taken without consent
Strictly Come Dancing star Karen Hauer’s estranged husband Jordan Wyn-Jones has insisted his mother left her engagement ring to him after her death – as his father claims he owns.
Professional dancer Karen, 41, was given the £60 gold H. Samuel band with a single jewel when Jordan proposed before their wedding last year, but it emerged the couple had split last month.
Jordan’s late mother Anne owned the ring and his father Lee said it was returned to him after her death.
But Jordan told MailOnline: ‘It was my mother’s ring, she left it to me when she passed away.’
He added, “I knew I wanted to give her my mom’s ring as soon as I met her.”
Dispute: Karen Hauer’s estranged husband Jordan Wyn-Jones has insisted his engagement ring was left to him by his mother after she died – as his father claims he owns
Split: Professional dancer Karen, 41, was given the £60 gold H. Samuel band with a single jewel when Jordan proposed before their wedding last year, but they recently split
Jordan insists that the ring be returned to him because Karen knows how much it means to him.
He said, ‘She’ll send it back. It’s not in her DNA to cause pain. It was my mother’s ring. She left it to me when she died, but she knows that. I have to laugh when I think of her like that.’
Jordan’s father Lee said over the weekend that the ring was his before it was given to his son’s ex, Karen.
Lee told The sun: ‘That’s it – if she sends the ring back to him instead of me, I’ll never see him again. I completely understand where Karen is coming from. She got the ring as a gift and as far as she knew it was hers.
“I’m grateful she gave it back to Jordan, but it’s actually mine.”
‘It’s not about the money. It’s purely sentimental value. Some things money can’t buy.’
MailOnline has contacted Karen for comment.
Jordan and his father Lee had a falling out when he met Karen and he didn’t attend their wedding last year.
Jewel: Jordan’s late mother Anne owned the ring and his father Lee said it was returned to him after she died (Karen photo)
He added: ‘I vividly remember buying it from H Samuel in Brighton – and it holds so many memories.
‘That ring is extremely sentimental to me. And it’s probably only worth £1,900 now. If things had been different between me and Jordan, he very well could have gotten my blessing. But the truth is he didn’t.’
It comes after her husband Jordan blamed Strictly for ruining the couple’s relationship.
The couple married last year but split after just 16 months following a difficult time.
Jordan has revealed that their relationship has become a series of video calls due to her demanding Strictly schedule and tour.
Although the couple hoped for children, the fact that she is a woman, a strict professional, makes decisions about having a baby much more difficult than for most other women. It goes without saying that it is impossible to participate in the show while pregnant.
But as Karen approaches her 40s, Jordan, 34, wants to set his sights on becoming a father.
“Karen is dedicated to her career, which she has worked very hard for,” Jordan said. “She’s amazing and I admire her for that. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to marry her – because of how powerful she is.
‘But we wanted different things. There was a plan to have children, but there was no plan.
Fairy tale: Their marriage had already failed for a year after what Karen had described at the time as a ‘fairy tale wedding’
“When we first met, we discussed it. You say things like: ‘I want to have children’. And she had told me that she would like to have children with me. But in the interview, Karen said, “Children are not the future” – which made me sad. I’ve always wanted to be a father.
‘I wouldn’t say it was a shock, but I knew subconsciously in the back of my mind…why would she want to have a child with me?
‘I had become vacant in our relationship. I was loving and caring towards her, but I was vacant because of the situation we were in.”
Although Jordan was Karen’s third husband – she was previously married to two dance partners, Matthew Hauer and Kevin Clifton, and then to opera singer David Webb – Kevin had only been married once before.
Karen cut a somber figure as she appeared on a Strictly live show with comedian Eddie Kadi last month, hours after it was reported she had split from her husband Jordan.
She and Jordan married last year and described the ceremony at the time as a ‘fairytale’, but sources claim the couple have gone their separate ways after a ‘difficult time’.
A source told the newspaper about their breakup Mirror: ‘Karen and Jordan have been going through a rough patch over the past few months and decided to part ways. It’s obviously very sad for both of them.
“But there is no ill will whatsoever. The split is amicable and they wish each other the best.”
In August this year, Karen revealed that she and Jordan were having counseling to help them with their relationship.
She told Hello! magazine: ‘Advisory. You know what I think communication is huge, but learning to communicate, you know, so we get outside help.
“So when we have tough moments or something like that, it’s just seeing and understanding the vulnerable side of each other, and knowing that we’re both working on things because nobody’s perfect.”
She added: ‘There is no such thing as a happy marriage or a happy relationship with the perfect couple.
“It’s about dealing with things the right way and not just running away from things, and I think that allows us to understand and understand each other even better.”