© BBC
The ex-EastEnders actress admitted to burying her romantic feelings for Chigvintsev in the run-up to their victory in the show's eighth series, but soon found that she was unable to deny their "amazing" chemistry.
She told the Daily Mail: "I was just wowed by him entirely. But I also thought, 'Please don't put me with him because I can't have a relationship with my dance partner'. I was so against it in my head thinking, 'No, no, no'... but he's such an amazing person - what can you do?"
She added: "[He] makes me a better person... It was all so surreal, rather like a fairy story."
Tointon also recalled her first kiss with Chigvintsev after a trip to watch Avatar at the cinema, a film that she felt "encapsulated the teacher/student scenario" between them.
She said: "We had a kiss when we came out. But even though I really liked him, I put my sensible hat on.
"Imagine if we'd started dating while doing the show and then something happened but we had to be together because of Strictly. It wasn't until after the final we got to relax and spend really lovely time together."
Tointon previously claimed that she was "embarrassed" by press attention to her Strictly romance.
> Kara Tointon 'knew Artem was special'
Watch Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvintsev's final Strictly Come Dancing performance below:
