Tyler West: ‘Molly Rainford’s my little star’

The Strictly couple tell Closer about their plans for a summer of love and why you'll never catch Molly running a marathon

Tyler and molly

by closer |
Published on

It’s been a whirlwind 12 months for Molly Rainford and Tyler West after the Strictly Come Dancing pair made their romance official last year– cementing their status as showbiz’s favourite new couple.

And the pair – who moved in together in January – are now gearing up for a summer blowout in Ibiza in August, as KISS FM DJ Tyler will be out there working.

Molly, 23, says, “It’ll be our third holiday this year. Jamaica was our first, then we did a Paris trip for a weekend… But we love Ibiza! We just love the music, the dancing. I’m so excited.”

Molly and tyler
Molly and Tyler met on strictly ©Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for Make-A-Wish

However, Molly admits that she has already had to take on the role of the responsible one and is now charged with the job of looking after Tyler’s passport following an incident last year when he forgot it.

Former CBBC presenter Molly adds, “I’ve got to make sure that his passport is ready. That is my duty!”

Tyler, 28 – who has been out to Ibiza this month on his first work stint – agrees, “Yeah, that happened last year and I had to watch everybody get on the plane except for me!”

The couple first met while both starring in the 2022 series of Strictly, with radio DJ Tyler partnered with Dianne Buswell and EastEnders actress Molly coupled up with Carlos Gu. Rumours then began swirling that the pair were an item while on the Strictly tour in early 2023.

Molly and Carlos
Molly and Carlos ©Photo by David M. Benett/Max Cisotti/Dave Benett/Getty Images

Molly said last December, “We never saw this coming but everyone who meets us says it’s as though we’ve been together forever – and that’s exactly how it feels.”

But while they love spending time together, Molly admits one thing she won’t be doing with Tyler is training for any long-distance runs, after keen runner Tyler ran the London Marathon earlier this year.

She says, “I was watching by the side of the track, and initially thought, ‘Do you know what? I’d love to do that’.

“And then I saw the state of Tyler after, and I was like, ‘Maybe it’s not for me’. I was ready with the tin foil, ice packs and the Crocs for him to put on afterwards.”

Tyler agrees, “She was a little star. We met in the tent afterwards and I got well emotional. I was like, ‘Wow, I ran it in four hours and 20 minutes’. That’s pretty good.”

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He adds, “The marathon was treacherous. It’s one of those days that, once you do it, you say, ‘I’m never going to do it again’. But then you remember the experience, the crowd and everything. However, it’s all well and good celebrating, but when the pains and cramps come on… I couldn’t walk!”

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