'David Beckham of rugby' back with famous fiancee after brutal truth made public

'David Beckham of rugby' back with famous fiancee after brutal truth made public The former England international has had a rollercoaster life away from the rugby field View Image Cohen and Rihanoff are back together after splitting last year During his professional rugby career, Ben Cohen would have looked to many people like he had it all. ‌ An England international who won 57 caps for his country, he formed an integral part of the iconic 2003 Rugby World Cup-winning squad, starting all but one game as Sir Clive Woodward's side wrote themselves into the history books. An electric wing for the likes of Northampton Saints, Brive and Sale Sharks, his model good looks even saw him dubbed 'the David Beckham of rugby'. ‌ However, behind the beaming smile he wore as he paraded the Webb Ellis Cup in front of the adoring travelling fans in Sydney all those years ago, the then-25 year-old was still dealing with a brutal heartbreak. ‌ JOIN OUR WALES RUGBY FACEBOOK PAGE Latest news, analysis and much more Just three years earlier, his father Peter - the brother of England World Cup-winning footballer George Cohen - had tragically lost his life after being attacked outside the nightclub he owned in Northampton. While trying to protect the victim of an attack outside the venue in October 2000, he suffered serious head injuries and spent three weeks in a coma. He woke up and appeared to be improving, but then tragically passed away, leaving Cohen and his family devastated. ‌ The rugby star later admitted that the impact of the fatal attack - which saw three men jailed for violent disorder but cleared of killing the nightclub manager - caused him to go "off the rails" in the aftermath, as he looked to turn to alcohol to cope with the tragedy. "I was an average rugby player," Cohen told The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast. "But what made me overachieve was the anger and pain of what happened to my dad. "I knew that my dad would want me to carry on looking forward, although what happened to him and how he was killed was f***ing brutal. At 21, did I realise how brutal it was and the impact it would have? No. Should I have gone through that at that age? No. ‌ "I would say I went off the rails," he added, crediting then-Northampton coach Wayne Smith with helping him turn things around. "I would say I'd been on my own since that point, I'm going to turn into an alcoholic for 10, 12 years. "It was tough, tough going until Wayne came in after the Lions tour. He called me into the office and gave me a job ultimatum, which I needed. I needed someone to hold me accountable, I was drifting, I was lost. He picked me up and put me on the tracks." However, while Cohen was able to turn his career around to reach the very top of the game, times have been tough for him since he hung up his boots in 2011. ‌ Two years on from his retirement from rugby, he appeared on Strictly Come Dancing and was partnered with Russian professional dancer Kristina Rihanoff. Shortly after his stint on the show, he left his wife of 11 years, Abby Blayney - with whom he shared twin daughter - and began a relationship with Rihanoff, to whom he got engaged in November 2022. The couple had a daughter, Mila, together, but last year, it emerged that their engagement was off, as they went their separate ways amid a string of financial issues. Those difficulties were made public in court back in September 2024, after Rihanoff was caught driving without insurance. Taking to the stand, an emotional Cohen admitted that his partner's lack of insurance was due to human error on his part, as he laid bare the couple's relationship issues and crippling business debts. ‌ Paperwork revealed that the debts accrued by their companies amounted to around £1 million, with their joint yoga venture - Soo Yoga Group - running up debts of just shy of £488,500. 'I get up every day and I fight not to lose everything," Cohen told the court. "To lose my cars and my house and my relationship. I'm so overdrawn.' 'We're still living together. We're in it financially. We're in business together so the problem is that we opened the business before Covid and we got the worst severities of it and in all honestly this is just another problem for me to deal with." Article continues below While they split up in March last year, however, the couple were back together just six months later, with the wedding now back on after they were first spotted cosying up to each other at an awards ceremony in London. "They've decided to give things another go," a source told The Sun at the time: "They looked very much in love."