Ben Cohen's ex-wife, Abby, has given her take on the rugby star's break-up with Strictly Come Dancing star, Kristina Rihanoff. Abby Cohen was married to Ben, 46, for 13 years before he met the Russian dancer, 47, on the BBC dance show in 2013. Ben left his wife, who he shares twin daughters with, before moving on with Kristina, who gave birth to the couple's daughter, Milena, in 2016. The couple got engaged in 2022, however, they've now called it quits amid reports of financial strife in a case of the Strictly curse in reverse. Revealing why she thinks Ben and Kristina have called it a day, Abby says the relationship was not built on a 'solid foundation', claiming that the attraction was "all about lust". Speaking to The Sun, she shared: “How they met is not, in my opinion, a solid enough foundation because it was all about lust and was a physical thing. It wasn’t an organic way to meet.’’ At the time of the split, Abby fumed that Ben had left her for “a f***ing Russian dancer”. However, she is now somewhat more contrite, conceding: “I’m sad that their relationship has ended. I do feel sorry for him. Our marriage broke down and now it’s happening all over again to him." Adding that Ben's break-up has reminded her of "all the hurt" in her relationship with the dad-of-three, she concluded: “I’m hoping this will bring some closure now. It reminds me of all the hurt I went through back then, my break-up. What goes around comes around." Ben broke his cover following the news of his split from Kristina two weeks ago. After twelve years with the dancer, it was reported that the pair had called it a day after facing money problems in recent years. Papped at the The Cabbage Patch Pub in Twickenham ahead of England vs Italy Six Nations match, Ben looked in high spirits as he shared clips of himself enjoying his Sunday afternoon. The sighting came days after it was reported that Kristina and Ben had split after their companies racked up debts of £1million. A few months before the break-up, the pair appeared in court where they said they were so much in debt they are "fighting not to lose their relationship and their home". They were in front of the judge after Kristina was caught driving her Audi Q3 without insurance, where she was slapped with a hefty six points on her licence. Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .