As winter temperatures continue to plummet across the UK, one could be forgiven for yearning for sunnier climes, warmer weather and a welcome abundance of vitamin D.
But not Nadiya Bychkova, who chose to spend Christmas and New Year in her native Slovenia with her eight-year-old daughter Mila, whose father is footballer Matija Skarabot.
The Strictly Come Dancing professional, 35, looked bewildered by the sub-zero temperatures currently gripping her home country as she relaxed with her daughter in a hot tub.
Stripping down to a red bikini, Nadiya showed off her incredible physique as she made the most of her picturesque surroundings during her stay at a remote winter chalet.
Sharing a handful of photos and videos with her Instagram followers, she wrote: “Our winter fairy tale in Slovenia.”
The ballroom dancer, who was the first to be eliminated from this year’s Strictly with her famous partner Tom Dean, also shared pictures of herself walking barefoot through the snow.
Nadiya Bychkova has shared this photo of her soaking in a jacuzzi in snowy Slovenia, where temperatures dropped below zero over Christmas.
Nadiya has chosen to spend Christmas and New Year in her native Slovenia with her little daughter Mila, eight years old, whose father is footballer Matija Skarabot.
Nadiya is understood to be single after ending her relationship with her strictly professional partner Kai Widdrington.
The talented dancer originally confirmed their romance in 2022, during an exclusive interview with Daily Mail Weekend magazine.
“We’ve been seeing each other well for a couple of months,” he said then.
“It’s early and we’ve been rehearsing for the Strictly Professionals tour, so we’ve had very little free time,” she continues.
But every day we get to know each other more and more. He is kind and compassionate and makes me laugh. “I feel very relaxed with him.”
When Nadiya, a two-time world champion in Latin and ballroom dancing and the only strictly professional mother, joined the show in 2017, long separations from her fiancé, with whom she lived in Slovenia, took their toll.
‘They are separated for much of their lives and neither of us wanted that. Unfortunately we grew apart,” he explained.
“But we will always be connected by Mila, who we love more than anyone, and we will do everything we can to make sure she is the happiest little girl.” It is important for Matija and me that we have a good relationship for Mila’s sake.
The couple made the most of the picturesque surroundings during their stay in a remote winter chalet.
Nadiya showed off her impressive physique while walking barefoot through the Slovenian snow
The ballroom dancer is pictured giving her daughter a loving kiss during their winter getaway.
‘Having a child trumps everything else. We make sure everything works around her and that we both understand our responsibilities.’
Nadiya’s childhood home was in Luhansk, in the Donbas region, taken by pro-Russian separatists in the 2014 invasion and recently the focus of intense fighting.
‘My father is not allowed to leave Ukraine because he is under 55 and could be recruited. I always worry about him,” he told Weekend in 2022.
‘My family can hear explosions from their homes. They also got used to that eight years ago.
‘In 2014, Mum escaped on the last train that left before the tracks were destroyed.
‘For three months there was no mobile phone signal. It was horrible because Dad and my grandparents were still there and I didn’t know if they were alive.
‘I saw a video on social media of my grandmother’s house destroyed by a bomb. “It was terrifying.”