Strictly’s Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu feared online 'homophobic' backlash after same-sex pairing

The Game of Thrones actor became the sixth star to be eliminated from the hit BBC show on Sunday, November 8, after facing off against former Love Island winner Cach Mercer and partner Maddie Ingoldsby.Antonia - who came out as gay in 2024 - was paired with Xu ahead of the first live show in a “speed dancing” style segment.Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu were the sixth couple to be eliminatedPAThey became the third all-female same-sex pairing on Strictly - the first since Jayde Adams and Karen Hauer in 2022.Following the announcement, Antonia explained that she was afraid she would receive backlash for her couple.She told The Standard: “I was really nervous that that Sunday morning I would wake up and it would just be like homophobic comments.”Nancy Xu and Bethany Antonia on Saturday’s episode of Strictly Come DancingPA MediaXu shared her concerns, adding: “I didn’t open comments on my phone as I was scared.”However, both Antonia and Xu said the response was overwhelmingly positive. ”Everyone's been so supportive and so sweet,” the actor explained.The pair also revealed that they had “manifested” being placed in a couple together, after Antonia asked Xu how she would feel about being paired with a woman.Nancy Xu and Bethany Antonia said they ‘manifested’ being paired togetherPA“ And you were like, ‘I'd love to’. And that was it.”Following her elimination on Sunday, Antonia said she “had a feeling” she’d be going as she reflected on her emotional exit on the spin-off programme Strictly: Lights Up, hosted by Abi Clarke and Tyler West."I just feel so lucky that that was the one we went out on," she said. "I had a feeling, it has been a very spiritual day, I had a feeling that today was a change of a chapter."Asked if her Strictly experience had lived up to what she wanted from the competition, Antonia said: "Oh it absolutely did. It exceeded my expectations of what it would feel like and the highlight of getting to do it with Nancy. I can't put it into words."