“We Need Your Prayers”… Heartbroken Karen Barber breaks down in tears

The ice skating world was left stunned when Karen Barber broke down during a live Instagram stream from her Buckinghamshire home. Just minutes after finishing an emotional tribute to her partner of 14 years, Christopher Dean, she returned visibly shaken, fighting back tears.

“We need your prayers,” she said softly. “Christopher… my Chris… has been diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s disease. This is the biggest battle of his life, and we’re going to fight it together.”

The raw announcement shocked fans worldwide. Dean, 66, the Olympic gold medalist famous for the legendary 1984 Boléro with Jayne Torvill, has long been admired for his strength and grace. Behind the scenes, he had been experiencing tremors and fatigue, now confirmed as symptoms of the progressive condition.