Who Is Len Goodman's Wife, Sue Barrett?
They got married secretly.
Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock Dancing With The Stars is coming back to TV in September and, with it, head judge Len Goodman. The beloved British ballroom expert will be overseeing a new group of pros and celebrities this year. What we don't know is if he will have to be living by himself during filming. His wife Sue Barrett, who he often refers to as "My Wonderful Sue" might have to isolate away from her husband in order to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19 to the rest of the cast.
Who is Len Goodman's wife, Sue Barrett?
Barrett, like her husband, has a background and dance and understands everything that comes along with the profession. But even a seasoned dancer might not have been expecting to be filming a reality show in strict isolation. Season 29 of the iconic show is going to be a new experience for everyone, cast, and spouses alike.
Barrett is a lot younger than her husband.
Goodman, who has been in the professional dance world since he was 19, is now 76 years old. Barrett is reportedly in her early 50s now, making her more than two decades younger than her husband.
Who is Sue Barrett? She also has a dance background.
Like her famous hubby, Barrett is also immersed in the world of dance. She is reportedly a dance instructor, something she can share with her spouse. He owns the Len Goodman Dance Academy in Kent, which is about 40 miles southeast of London in England. The website for the studio doesn't have a teacher list so we don't know for sure if that's where Barrett teaches but it seems likely that they would collaborate on their shared passion for ballroom and Latin dance.
Barrett and Goodman were in a long-term relationship before marriage.
Though the couple likes to stay low-key, their relationship was reportedly common knowledge long before they ever got married. They started seeing one another 10 years before their 2013 wedding and he always spoke fondly of her, referring to her as "My Wonderful Sue," when she came up in conversation.
Len Goodman and Sue Barrett's wedding was a top-secret affair.
Barrett is protective of her privacy and doesn't splash her business around on social media. Their wedding was no different. Barrett and her husband-to-be decided to make the wedding a surprise in order to keep the publicity to a minimum and make sure the British press didn't get wind of it. Goodman says he proposed the summer before the actual nuptials saying, "I've been going out with my lovely Sue for ages and I decided it was time to pop the question. She's gorgeous and makes me very happy — though she likes to stay out of the limelight."
Barrett's desire for privacy is one of the reasons they made sure the wedding wasn't an over-the-top affair with lots of reporters in the know. The only person they told ahead of time was Goodman's 96-year-old mother. The rest of the couple's guests arrived at what they thought would be a luncheon only to learn that Goodman and Barrett would be saying "I do" as part of the event. The couple even danced for their guests, something they seldom do in public.
Who was Len Goodman's first wife?
Goodman has been married before this. In fact, he was married to another dancer. In the late 60s and early 70s, Goodman danced with his ballroom partner Cherry Kingston and the relationship turned romantic. Though he retired from professional dancing in 1972, he and Kingston stayed together, this time as husband and wife. The quickly realized it wasn't an ideal match, though they remained together for another five years. Kingston finally called it quits on the marriage when she met a French millionaire and fell in love with him. Goodman says she doesn't hold any grudges about how the marriage turned out.
Goodman was in a long-term relationship with a woman named Lesley for years after that and the two share a son named James. These days, their son is a dance instructor at the Goodnamn Studio of Dance so it seems likely that he knows and likes Sue Barrett.
Will Sue Barret be allowed to come to Los Angeles for DWTS filming?
We don't know if Barrett typically accompanies her husband to Los Angeles for filming. This year, that's an even more complicated question. ABC has announced that judges and dancers will be expected to stay isolated from their spouses during filming in order to minimize the risk of COVID-19. Unless Barrett were to agree to stay strictly at one and not see anyone but Goodman, we don't see how she could join him while he is shooting this season.
The new season of DWTS premiers in September.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. She is the creator of the blog FeminXer and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.