Former Strictly star Oti Mabuse opened up about the ongoing “toxic relationship” she has with her body after giving birth.
Oti, 34, found huge success on the hit BBC dance show, winning the Glitterball Trophy two years running in 2019 and 2020. However, after a seven-year stint, she waved goodbye to Strictly in 2022.
Since her departure, Oti’s career and personal life has continued to reach new heights. She became a judge on The Masked Singer and Dancing On Ice while competing on I’m A Celeb last year.
Meanwhile, in December 2023, she and her husband, Marius Iepure, welcomed their first child, a daughter.
Oti Mabuse reveals ‘toxic relationship’ with body image
Despite many highs, Oti has struggled with body image after beginning her career as a young dancer.
“Growing up, I always thought that the people who did the best [in dancing] were the thinnest, and you always felt like, ‘If I need to be successful, I need to look like that,'” she told Prima magazine.
Oti said she believes it’s not “just Latin and ballroom dancers”, insisting it’s “across the board”.
“All dancers, we always feel like that. And so we then have this very toxic relationship with our bodies, and even when you walk into the room, and if you’ve lost weight, they go, ‘Oh my gosh, she looks so good,'” she continued.
Oti shared she is still “trying to rebuild that relationship” with her body. She described the process as “a continuing journey” that she will have to continue to navigate.
“It will be every day, I guess, for the rest of my life, that I’ll just have to work on that relationship, and hopefully by talking about it, it’s going to create more of a conversation around the fact that we need to build our relationship with our bodies in a very healthy way,” Oti added.
‘I’m not happy with what I look like’
The TV star candidly admitted she still has moments where she thinks: “‘Oh my gosh, I’m not happy with what I look like.'”
However, she confessed she has to “say to myself in the mirror, ‘No, you are good. You are perfect. You have had a baby, you’ve had a human being come out of you. It’s OK to not look perfect, as long as you move, as long as you’re trying to be healthy.'”
While Oti will not be returning to Strictly this year, she said she was open to the idea, stating: “The doors are always open.”
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