Rachel Riley opened up about her Las Vegas wedding (Image: INSTAGRAM)
Countdown’s Rachel Riley spoke about her marriage to former Strictly Come Dancing star Pasha Kovalev and their last-minute Las Vegas wedding that they decided upon just one week beforehand in an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk.
During the interview, Rachel revealed that she bought her wedding dress just a day before the ceremony, explaining that the rather impromptu US-based affair was due to Pasha’s American passport, as he would have been forced to leave the UK to get a visa if they tried to get married at home.
The 37-year-old presenter joined BBC show Strictly Come Dancing in 2013, where she met her future husband Pasha, 43, who was the professional dancer training her on the show.
The pair wed in 2019 and share daughters Maven, three, and one-year-old Noa.
The maths whizz has since opened up about their Nevada-based wedding in a wider interview about KAYAK’s handy Vacay Valuator tool, which may prove to be a lifesaver for holidaymakers struggling with the cost of living crisis.
READ MORE: Pasha Kovalev shares ‘rule’ at home while raising kids with wife Rachel Riley
Rachel and Pasha met on Strictly (Image: PA)
Speaking about why they decided to get married in the USA rather than in the UK, Rachel explained that it was largely for “practical reasons”.
“We were going to Vegas anyway to see Robbie Williams with our friends,” she recalled. “And I was pregnant at the time.
“If we had wanted to get married in the UK, because he’s an American citizen, we’d have had to get visas, we would have had to make announcements…
“He would have had to leave the country when we were married to go back and get a visa, you know, and I was pregnant and ready to drop!
“But if you get married in America, you can just come over and do all that.”
Rachel recently got an MBE (Image: GETTY)
Rachel went on to describe the day as a rather spur-of-the-moment decision, as the pair had apparently never been that enamoured by the idea of marriage.
“So we were never bothered about getting married, but then we just were like ‘shall we just get married’ once we were having the baby,” she revealed.
“And actually, we had such a nice day. It was really lovely. But we only decided the week before.
“You just go to the courthouse and pay like $60 or whatever it is – and until we had that piece of paper, we didn’t realise it really is that easy.
“You walk in, you pay the money, you go out… So we were like, ‘Ok, well we can do it then!’”
Rachel and Pasha share two children (Image: GETTY)
Going into more detail about the momentous day, Rachel remembered: “Once we said we’d do it the week before, I just looked at a few places and found one that looked like it had nice colours and would take nice photos.
“And then I didn’t have a dress, so I bought the dress the day before in the hotel gift shop.”
Rachel went on to explain how she had shocked her friend, who was flying in the day before the wedding to see Robbie Williams with them, by telling her the news that she would be one of two people at her impromptu wedding.
“We only had two friends there,” Rachel said. “The other one – one of Pasha’s friends – lives in LA, so he was driving down and Pasha just like rang him and said, ‘You know how you’re always late? Well, don’t be late tomorrow because we’re getting married!’
Gushing about the day, she continued: “We had a really nice dinner and it was really low-key. It was just about us and we really enjoyed it. It was nice to be in Vegas because we love travelling and eating good food. Good memories!
Speaking about KAYAK’s fantastic new Vacay Valuator tool, Rachel said: “Even though times are tough, people still want to get on a holiday because we value that time away.
“So people are willing to give up takeaways or nights out or alcohol or subscription services.
“You can click and say, ‘Actually, I want to go away in August. I’m willing to save up for two months and I’m willing to give up Netflix, coffee and takeaways.’
“Then it calculates exactly how much that will save you on average, and then it will show you where you can get to with flights all around Europe and beyond. It’s quite a cool tool and it’s giving you the best deals.”
Rachel is working with travel search engine KAYAK for its Vacay Valuator campaign to help people save and find the best holidays for their budget this summer. Find out more at kayak.co.uk/vacay-valuator.
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