For years, Neil Jones has floated across the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom with trademark charm, glittering smiles and light-hearted banter. But away from the sequins and Instagram jokes, 2025 has quietly become the hardest year of his life.
It was the year he became a father.
The year his family fractured under bitter accusations.
And the year he buried his own dad.
Three life-changing blows. One man. Twelve brutal months.
Becoming A Dad While Losing His Own – Neil Jones’ Quietest Battle Yet
In late 2023, Neil and partner Chyna Mills welcomed their daughter Havana — a moment he later described privately as the greatest joy he had ever known.
Friends say fatherhood softened him instantly. The jokester became protective, calm, emotionally open. He proudly shared sleepless nights and tiny milestones, finally living the chapter he had dreamed of.
But as he learned to hold his own child, fate was preparing to take away the man who had once held him.
The Baptism That Exposed A Family Divide
Earlier this year, Neil and Chyna arranged Havana’s baptism — a sacred family moment meant to be filled with warmth and unity.
Instead, it detonated into a public storm.
Chyna posted emotional allegations on Instagram, claiming she had faced bullying, racism and disrespect from a “so-called MIL” since joining the family. She revealed that some relatives refused to attend the baptism because of the tension.
“It’s heartbreaking when people try to ruin the most beautiful moments in my daughter’s life,” she wrote.
“Enough is enough.”
Fans were stunned. Neil had always been seen as the gentle peacekeeper of Strictly.
His sister Terri later responded to the Mail, accusing Chyna of “spinning lies” and adding ominously:
“The truth will come out eventually.”
Neil, caught in the middle, stayed silent — and that silence only deepened the mystery.
Benched From Strictly – When The Music Stopped
As his personal life unravelled, another blow landed.
Neil was left without a celebrity partner for Strictly 2025.
No explanation. No tribute. Just absence.
He tried to mask the sting with humour, sharing a video of himself attempting — and failing — to throw a pen into a cup, joking:
“If I get the pen in the cup I will get a celeb partner this year.”
He missed.
Fans laughed — but behind the joke was a man watching the show that made him drift forward without him.
“Yesterday I Said Goodbye To My Dad For The Final Time”
Then November arrived.
Neil posted black-and-white photos of his father David — the man he called his mirror, his role model, his foundation.
“Yesterday I said goodbye to my dad for the final time,” he wrote.
At the funeral, he admitted, he learned things about his father he never knew, as friends and family shared stories that made him smile through tears.
“I know he would be smiling looking down with a pint in his hand.”
Just months after cradling his newborn daughter, Neil stood at his father’s grave.
One generation beginning.
Another ending.
A year he will never forget. 
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