Oti Mabuse shares candid admission about leaving baby daughter for ITV I'm A Celebrity after 'traumatic' birth
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ITV
Dancing on Ice judge and former Strictly champion Oti Mabuse has revealed the challenges that await her as a new mum while she prepares to take on I’m a Celebrity.
The 34-year-old and husband Marius Iepure, a fellow dancer and choreographer, welcomed their baby daughter in autumn last year.
Mabuse is one of the 10 celebrities, including TV personality Coleen Rooney and McFly star Danny Jones, heading Down Under later this month to vie for the title of King or Queen of the Jungle.
As the competition approaches, Mabuse has been reflecting on her first year as a mother and how her next challenge will affect her.
Speaking to ITV, she said: “Now I have had my baby daughter, I want to get back to the adventurous and fun Oti.”
She believes the competition will give her a chance to “catch up on a whole year's sleep” and use what she has learned as a new mum “to my advantage”.
Mabuse will join the nine other celebs in the jungle
ITV
However, Mabuse said she also wants to show a new side of herself away from her usual glitzy showbiz jobs.
“I feel ready for a change and doing something completely different. I will have no make-up, concealer, lashes - it's going to be nice to be laid back,” she declared.
While the South African is incredibly excited to begin, she conceded there is a difficulty in leaving her one-year-old baby behind.
"Not seeing my daughter is going to be hard” the dancer admitted but declared her tot “is going to be one of my biggest motivators".
Since her difficult birth, Mabuse and Iepure have been very protective of their daughter
Instagram: otimabuse
The birth of Mabuse’s baby was not an easy one – her and Iepure’s daughter was born 28 weeks premature.
As a result, their baby had to spend six weeks in the NICU.
The 34-year-old described that “traumatic” period as "one of the scariest" times of her life.
Ever since, the couple have been “super protective” of their daughter – delaying any announcement of her arrival until Christmas of last year.
They have gone so far as to keep her name a secret.
However, Mabuse did reveal to Hello! that her mother Dudu played a role in naming the baby: “My mum named all the children in the family. I think three months before she was born, the name was already set."
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Mabuse has settled into motherhood, explaining: "The idea that this human being and I are so connected and there are so many things that could go right, but so many things that could go wrong at the same time.
“When they say motherhood is a journey, it's the truth. It's constant and it's nonstop,” she concluded.
The South African enjoyed a glittering stint as a professional dancer on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, lifting the 2019 and 2020 Glitterball Trophies with celeb partners Kelvin Fletcher and Bill Bailey, respectively.
When asked by ITV about the potential of further glory in the jungle, Mabuse mused: "Wow I haven't thought that far.
"It would be amazing, but it is not the reason I am going in. I am looking forward to all the new challenges and yes, I hate snakes, but I'm hoping to keep the mindset of 'everything will be fine!”
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