'We couldn't be happier', say Thalia and Ryan as they return home to Ireland

Glam couple Thalia Heffernan and Ryan McShane have come home from England

Sorcha O'Connor

They met on the first series of Dancing With The Stars, and now Thalia Heffernan is back in Dublin with dancer boyfriend Ryan McShane as he gears up for the third series of the show.

Thalia has lived with Ryan in Birmingham for the past year, but this week the couple packed up their belongings and headed home to Ireland.

Model Thalia (23) took to social media to update her foll- owers on the packing process, saying her car had broken down in the middle of the move.

Meanwhile, Ryan shared a snap of the couple posing with their two pet lurchers ready to hit the road.

Glam couple Thalia Heffernan and Ryan McShane with one of their two pet lurchers

"England you have been amazing," said the professional dancer.

"All the memories along the way, but after 11 years I have moved back home with Thalia and our boys. Couldn't be happier."

Ryan (33) said he would be joining another Dancing With The Stars professional, John Nolan, to teach at the Xquisite dance school in Dublin.

He will also be fitting in the many hours of rehearsals for his return to Ardmore Studios in January.

Ryan met Thalia when she joined the celebrity cast of the first series of the hit RTE show in January last year.

Thalia's time on the show was short-lived - she was the second celeb to be voted off, with professional partner Curtis Pritchard.

However, romance still had a chance to blossom between her and Ryan.

Speaking to the Herald in September, Thalia said the move home was a goal for the couple.

Apart

She said living in the same country was very important to them now because they had not enjoyed being apart in the past.

She added that Ryan's mum would be happy to have him back on Irish soil after spending so many years in England.

"He loves Ireland and his parents are up North, so for his mum to have him in the same country would be the be-all and end-all," said Thalia. "She'd be so delighted."

Thalia said settling down in Dublin was definitely something on the couple's wish list.

She said they needed somewhere central but also suitable for their dogs.

"There are conversations being had, but we aren't going to make any big moves just yet," she said in the September interview.

"It has proved more difficult than we hoped to find somewhere central and somewhere suitable for the dogs.

"We'll get there eventually, we have a bit of time and it isn't the end of the world, and definitely, moving back to Dublin is something we are looking at."