Dancing On Ice star Oti Mabuse shares years-long struggle after ‘hurtful’ remarks
Dancing On Ice star Oti Mabuse has spoken further about how cruel trolls have damaged her body positivity.
The former Strictly Come Dancing pro, 34, said she had ‘struggled for years’ over vile abuse about her appearance.
She said she has always encouraged women to ‘feel comfortable in their own skin’ but was sometimes unable to do so herself due to trolls ‘going out of their way to make you feel terrible.’
However, the I’m A Celebrity campmate said she was ‘working on’ not allowing the ‘hurtful’ comments to negatively impact her self-esteem.
Discussing the pressures of body image, Oti said women ‘get put through the trenches a lot of the time’ over their appearance and said she was receiving ‘the most compliments’ when she was ‘not making healthy lifestyle choices.’
She continued to The Times: ‘I guess I’ve always been about body positivity and women feeling comfortable in their own skin, but when a picture has been taken of you, and someone goes out of their way to make you feel terrible, that’s not nice. That’s actually quite hurtful.
‘I’ve struggled with it for years and I guess I’m still working through it, trying not to let those comments get to me, trying to still be like, “Look, I’m here, I’m curvy.” I look completely different from how other women look. Completely different. But I’m doing it anyway.’
On I’m A Celebrity last year, Oti said to fellow campmate Maura Higgins that she gets ‘so many comments about [her] body’ when she appears on TV, with some commenting on her weight.
‘I used to find it difficult because my weight gain wasn’t actually my fault, it was me getting over a weight problem,” she said.
‘It was me actually not starving myself, not being on laxatives, not smoking, being a vegan. It was actually me being healthy for the first time and I really struggled being like, “Why are people calling me fat?”
‘Actually, this is the healthiest I’ve ever been. I was underweight, I didn’t get my period for months. I didn’t eat, we would dance all day, we would drink but we wouldn’t eat.
‘My ribs were sticking out. And back in those days it was like, “Oh, she’s amazing, she’s got a nice body” but I was like, “No, but this is me being healthy”.’
Also on the ITV show, Oti revealed plans to ‘give up’ her career to focus on being a full-time mum.
She gave birth to her first child, a daughter she shares with her husband Romanian professional dancer Marius Iepure, at the end of 2023.
Oti said: ‘Eventually I’ll have to give all of this up and just dedicate my life to them.’
She added: ‘I think there’s this preconceived notion that when you’re a housewife you’ve got no ambition or it’s easy for you.’
The mother-of-one also shared that she ‘found it difficult’ not to let the trolling get to her when she was criticised for going on Dancing On Ice when her daughter was eight weeks.
Fans shared their love for the candid conversation about motherhood online.
‘This is such an important topic for these two to discuss. There is always so judgment on mums whatever they do,’ @emilyroseon posted on X.
‘Women are judged so much for having OR NOT having children… Be supportive. End of,’ @kayleigh_iot added.
Dancing On Ice star Oti Mabuse shares years-long struggle after ‘hurtful’ remarks