Kevin Clifton's second wife reveals that she took an overdose of pills when the dancer ended their marriage

Clare Craze, Strictly star Kevin Clifton's broken-hearted spouse, has attempted suicide after the ruthless end of their marriage in public, she revealed last night.

The 39-year-old, also an experienced dancer, was so upset that she took an overdose of pills for anxiety, drizzled with wine, and was found collapsed on the street by strangers.

"When he told me it was over, it was as if all hope of my life was gone – it was overwhelming," she says.

"Then I went to a bar and took a whole box of pills. I was found near the Waterloo Bridge by pbadersby who called an ambulance.

Clare woke up at the hospital on drip, Kevin still being determined to divorce. He wanted to be free to form a relationship with Karen Hauer – who will later become his third wife and co-star Strictly Come Dancing.

Now, of course, he has a new girlfriend who is leading the British standings of fame, success and popularity: documentary filmmaker and current Strictly Champion, Stacey Dooley.

Their romantic relationship has devastated Stacey's boyfriend, Sam Tucknott, for five years, who told the Mail last Sunday how he felt betrayed by the man he had treated as a friend.

Sam, a personal trainer, called the dancer a "slippery snake" and accused him of "stealing" the woman he was hoping to marry.

Clare, who has now recovered and had a son with her new partner, has witnessed emotional carnage with less surprise than most people – she has direct experience of Kevin's cruelty when he has an eye on a new future.

By the time he told her that their marriage was over, she said that he had already informed their owners that she would leave the marital home and had her removed from the London series of the prestigious show. Burn The Floor dance, in which they were. speak to appear.

Today, her words will be a warning to Stacey regarding the professional and personal ambitions of her lover.

"Kevin is like a chameleon, he finds what you want and then he gets it," she says.

"Plus, he's extremely talented, which is very appealing. Coupled with him posing as a nice guy, it's a powerful combination.

"Kevin is a social mountaineer and famous for his hunger. He loved dancing but he also wanted the glamor of red carpets and see his name in the spotlight. He dropped me as soon as it suited him.

With the last name Stacey at his side and the Glitterball Trophy in his possession, everything is now guaranteed.

But Clare's account of the collateral damage left in Kevin's wake is a salutary read.

The most shocking is the way the 36 year old young man seems to find his relationships almost interchangeable while he faints and exchanges.

He delivered a portion of the same wedding day speech to Clare and Karen, and promised the two women to be able to call any future son of the same name.

Clare even claims to have erased a woman from her resume: "I discovered that he had been married years later. I sent a message to my mother and told her, "Well, I guess I was not the first, after all".

Kevin has also benefited in profile from his many partnerships with TV star Susanna Reid, separated from his longtime boyfriend and father of his children after playing in the 2013 series, and most recently from Louise Redknapp .

She celebrated her 18-year-old wedding with former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp, and partying with Kevin afterwards.

Stacey's split with Sam makes him the 14th couple to split up as a result of what was called the curse of the curse and the third of Kevin's dance partners.

In retrospect, Clare knows that the clues were there when she first visited her family's home in the village of Waltham, near Grimsby.

Along with dozens of dance trophies, photos of Kevin with his partners over the years, each of them being his girlfriend.

Claire nicknamed the gallery of the ancients' The wall of death & # 39; but, having been swept away, she did not expect to see her join her.

Clare was 25 years old and had a degree in performing arts from Middlebad University when she met Kevin at a salsa bar at Wimbledon in 2005.

They had been invited to teach there and it was clear from the start that he was determined to seduce her.

In eight weeks they had moved in together. "Just like that, we were an object, against each other," she says.

She says that she had no idea that he had been married to her former partner, Anna Melnikova, until she became aware of this in an article from newspaper last year.

"He told me that they had gone out together," says Clare. "But years later, I saw an article saying that he had been married to her before me, in 2003, at the age of 20. I was in shock.

"When we got married, we had to take some clbades on marriage. You must say if you have ever been married and he has never spoken about it.

During the first year, they shared a room with her husband – and sometimes a bed together during their tours.

"He told me that it was completely normal in the world of Latin ball competitions, but I really knew you should not sleep in the same bed as your ex girlfriend when you're engaged." It was very annoying at the time.

She has no idea why Kevin has behaved this way since she loved him and "would have done everything to make him happy".

In fact, she started teaching dance at the expense of her own career to subsidize Kevin's. Six months later, he proposed to buy a ring and spend the night in Blackpool, where he was arguing to kneel in their living room.

"My family absolutely loved him and treated him like a son," says Clare. & # 39; My brother was the best man at our wedding and his sister [Joanne Clifton, winner of Strictly’s 2015 Christmas special] was my maid of honor.

The first time I met her mother, she said "We love you" and her father was referring to his two daughters, which means me and Kevin's sister.

"But at the time, Kevin's parents were his managers and they were obsessed with his success.

"They were champions of the ballroom, as were his grandparents. Because I did not come from this world, I felt that they did not respect my achievements.

"I might have had a diploma and a successful career, but they would introduce me to people and would just say," Is not she pretty? "

She did, however, trust Kevin's love and described his 2007 wedding at St Mary's Church in the Wivenhoe Waterfront Village, on the banks of the Esbad River, where she grew up, as the day most happy of his life until now.

"I was wearing a princess dress – £ 400 at half price in a Grimsby store," she says with a laugh. "I felt like a princess."

It was a budget event costing only £ 2,500, a fraction of the amount Kevin can order today, with both families participating in the reception of the sailing club at the dock.

She was particularly pleased with her new husband's speech – until years later, she was horrified to learn that he had recycled some parts of it when he married Karen in 2015.

"Kevin made a speech that seemed very touching to me at the time. He loves football, and he compared me to a top football team, claiming that he was out of my league, "she said.

"Then I read an interview with Karen about her speech at their wedding and it was exactly the same. I thought it was nice – until he used it again. & # 39;

A conversation between the newlyweds during their two-week honeymoon in Crete would also be resumed later in her subsequent marriage.

"We talked about kids and Kevin said that if he had a son, he liked the name Heath because it sounded like Heathcliffe, with our last name," says Clare.

"Later, I read an interview that he gave Karen in which he talked about her husband, Heath.

At the time of her marriage with Clare, Kevin – recognized as one of the UK's finest competitive dancers – had been selected to appear on a show called Burn The Floor. Clare also managed to get a role, which meant the couple could go on tour together.

Rehearsals began in Perth, Australia, in November 2007, before the beginning of January 2008.

Clare said: "Kevin was one of the best dancers, so it's produced with the best women. I found it very difficult to watch them because it was so sensual and romantic.

"I had to see a hypnotist who badured me that he was only doing his job. I was listening to hypnotism CDs at night to calm my anxiety. I think it meant that when he fell in love with Karen, I missed the signs. The hypnotism had taught me not to worry.

The woman who would become her love rival, Karen, joined Broadway in November 2009.

"Kevin and I organized a pie and mulled wine party in our New York apartment and it was the first night I met with her," Clare said.

"I made an effort to be nice to her while I remembered how terrified I was to join the show." She was very pretty, smiling and kind.

Later that year, the couple returned to the UK, where Kevin began appearing on the West End show, Dirty Dancing, and Clare was playing in television commercials.

When Burn The Floor moved to London, Kevin started socializing every night with his casting, including Karen.

In September 2010, less than a fortnight before their split, Kevin went with the cast to the Soho Punk disco.

Clare tried to join them but the bouncer did not let her in and Kevin did not answer his phone.

"After 45 minutes, I came in and he behaved very strangely – he was irritable, I was there," she says.

He said, "These are not even your friends." And Karen left when I arrived.

"Then there was an after-party. He did not want me to go but that's what I did. When we arrived, I realized that it was in Karen 's apartment.

"We were playing a game around a table with our hands and he and Karen were very tactile, they were rubbing against each other. I remember thinking that they were fine together, like a couple.

Two days later, Kevin went to his parents' home in Grimsby, stating that he was suffering from bronchitis. A week later, he asked to meet Clare at a bar in Covent Garden.

"I did not expect to meet him for a separation discussion, I was only thinking of meeting my husband," says Clare. "He told me that he had gone to Grimsby to find out how he was going to leave.

"Burn The Floor was contacted and said he was going back but I was not – I had already had discussions to join the show.

"The friends we rented our apartment were also told that he was going to stay and I was not.

"He contacted common friends and told them," Can I stay with you tonight because I'm going to meet Clare and leave her? "

& # 39; So, all these people knew that he was going to leave me while I did not know anything about it. It was like he had started his new life before letting me know that mine was finishing up.

Clare felt like being "under the water," but Kevin was calm enough to chat with the bar fans who recognized him. She says that he then left her there crying.

When they saw each other the following week, he repeated that he was trying to move on and Clare attempted suicide.

She then went through a series of therapy sessions to help her recover. "My therapist described Kevin as a narcissist for textbooks," she says.

The star asked Claire to grant her a quick divorce for unreasonable behavior, but she did not respond to her lawyer's letters: "I could not handle it. I could not be in contact with him, I just let him arrive. I concentrated on getting back on my feet.

The marriage was finally dissolved in 2013.

Clare says, "At the time, it hurt me a lot but now I do not feel anything with Kevin anymore. I do not care what he does because I have no respect for him.

"Last week, I discovered that he had danced with three Strictly women and that their relationships were separate.

"When you dance with someone, it's so electrifying that you think," Wow, we have such chemistry, I'm in love with you, "but it's just something that's happening in a dance relationship.

"With the help of my family and friends, I rebuilt my life after Kevin. I can forgive him because he is not important to me.

"Regarding Strictly? Even though I'm still dancing, I've never seen a single episode. & # 39;