Ray Quinn: I danced my way to love

At 18, the X-Factor’s runner-up says fame won’t ruin his relationship

Tuesday, 27 March 2007

He may have made a swing album in LA and a video in Las Vegas, but the X-Factor’s runner-up Ray Quinn insists that fame won’t damage his loving relationship with his childhood sweetheart.

Kirsten McInery had been Ray’s partner in ballroom dance competitions for four years. But Ray reckons it was when the pair copied a routine from Dirty Dancing when they were 16 that he became convinced that he and Kirsten were made for each other.

The routine ends with a spectacular dance lift, with Ray holding petite Kirsten high above his head and, as he gazed up at her, he knew this was it.

‘It’s a routine we’re now asked to perform at weddings and birthday parties, with everyone gathered around us in a circle clapping away,’ says Ray, who spent a romantic few days with Kirsten in Los Angeles while making his first album.

‘It’s lovely to be able to dance like that. I’d love to perform the routine with Kirsten on TV. She’s so tiny – only about 5ft – so I’m able to do the DD lift. It’s quite impressive!

'I was so happy when Kirsten was able to fly over to be with me in LA. We’ve known each other since we were 10 and started going in for ballroom and Latin dance competitions together.

'She’s always been a part of me. She’s my best friend and we trust each other.‘We’re determined to remain a couple. She knows I’m not going to change the way I am just because of The X Factor and what’s happened to me since.

'She’s so proud of me and she’s always so supportive. She gave me a cute little teddy bear for good luck during The X Factor and she texted me with good luck messages all the time.

‘Kirsten’s the only girlfriend I’ve ever had, but marriage is a million miles away. I’m only 18.’

Since The X Factor, Ray’s been staying in hotels and living out of a suitcase as his career gathers pace. He’s set to tour the UK in October. ‘I’m getting nicely paid for what I’m doing,’ he says.

‘But I haven’t bought anything full-on yet. I’d love to buy an Aston Martin DB9 or the kind of Cadillac I drive in my video. I’d also love a house or an apartment in LA. One of the first things I did when I got there was to have myself photographed in front of the Hollywood sign. But I was so busy, I didn’t even have time to get to the beach.’

See the full interview with Ray in Teen Now magazine - out now!