Oti and her husband opened up candidly on Paul C Brunson’s podcast (Image: otimabuse/Instagram)Emmerdale spoilers, news and interviews sent straight to your inbox for freeMore Newsletters SubscribePlease enter a valid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.More NewslettersWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More infoThank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow me See OurPrivacy Notice See OurPrivacy Notice×Group 28 Emmerdale spoilers, news and interviews sent straight to your inbox for freeInvalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.Sign UpNo thanks, closeWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info×Group 28Thank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow MeNo thanks, closeSee our
Privacy Notice Oti Mabuse has openly shared the impact that her dedication to Strictly Come Dancing had on her personal life, particularly her marriage. The 34 year old professional dancer spoke about how her commitment to the BBC hit show caused her to become physically and emotionally distant from her husband, Marius Lepure. Oti joined Strictly just a year after tying the knot with her Romanian partner in 2014. During a heartfelt conversation on Paul Carrick Brunson’s We Need To Talk podcast, Oti referred to the show as “a lifestyle choice” rather than just a television programme. She divulged, “It is all you think about 24/7,” adding, “It’s all you do. You’re on tour, you’re doing other Strictly-associated shows. You’re not really 100% in the marriage, because this is gold. The trophy is handmade, by the way, and you’re fixated on it.”
Oti admits she wasnt 100% ‘in her marriage’ during Strictly
(Image: WireImage)
Oti also acknowledged that she failed to maintain communication with her loved ones during her early years on Strictly. “I didn’t communicate with my friends, I didn’t communicate with my family, I didn’t communicate with my husband. It was just this one goal that I wanted to achieve so, so, so, so so much.” Her husband Marius, who joined her on the podcast, expressed his understanding of the sacrifices needed for Oti to triumph on Strictly to the Married At First Sight relationship guru. “I’m in that business. I knew what it takes to be a successful dancer and choreographer in a show like that, so it was nothing new. But obviously it’s tough and it hurts and it’s not the easiest time but you see the end of the tunnel”, reports the Mirror. Oti, despite winning the competition in 2019 with Emmerdale’s Kelvin Fletcher and again a series later with comedian Bill Bailey, confessed that she experienced some serious “lows”. She admitted to breaking down in tears in the shower fully clothed after struggling to inspire a contestant to “love the job”.
The pro dancer and presenter said she felt she ‘wasn’t good enough’
(Image: Instagram/otimabuse)
“In my head, I felt, ‘I’m not good enough’,” she shared. “‘I’m not good enough in my job’. All of this pressure that I [had] – I’m representing black women. I’m representing African women. I stand for so much – if I can’t get this job done, I’m not good enough. I don’t deserve to be here’.” “[Marius] came in, he got in the shower, fully clothed, he picked me up, and he just hugged me and held me. He said, ‘It’s just a job. You have family, you have friends, you have me and you have food’. In that moment, I realised that no matter how much I have this career – and I love the show and everything it encompasses – at the end of the day, I get to go home to the things that make me more. It is not who I am, it’s what I do.” Oti and her husband Marius, 41, are parents to a daughter they welcomed last year.Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnEmmerdaleMarried At First SightStrictly Come DancingKelvin FletcherOti Mabuse
