Strictly Come Dancing's Oti Mabuse on challenge she faced returning to work after baby
Oti Mabuse has candidly discussed her return to the dance floor after becoming a mum in 2023.
The former Strictly Come Dancing star is set to embark on a new tour with her ex-Strictly colleague, Flavia Cacace.
Starting from 12 June, the duo will be touring across the UK, performing in various towns and cities for what Oti describes as "one big party".
During Tuesday's episode of Lorraine, stand-in host Ranvir Singh was eager to know how Oti is coping with it all.
Ranvir queried: "Just briefly, how is your body coping with coming back? Is this the most intense dancing you would've done since you became a new mum?"
Oti confirmed that was indeed the case, responding: "Yeah it is. I knew I was doing this tour a year ago.
"So I've really been trying to lose the baby weight and get physically strong and have the stamina to actually be able to do a two-hour show.
"The journey of getting back and being healthy for me has been really a learning curve. I've had to relearn and relive my relationship with my body and what I speak to myself and what I see in the mirror."
However, Oti revealed that now she's returned to the world she was once "scared of" as a mum, it feels liberating. She added: "I feel stronger."
Oti welcomed her daughter at the end of 2023, although her baby girl was born 10 weeks prematurely and spent six weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, reports Leicestershire Live.
Reflecting on her traumatic birth experience during an interview on Loose Women, Oti recounted: "Once I gave birth to her, it became more traumatic. I had sepsis, and I didn't know. I had all these things, I had diabetes, I had pelvic pain, so turning and getting up and walking was very painful.
(Image:)
"Then I found out that I had sepsis. It was one thing over the other. We spent 10 minutes together and she was taken away with my husband and the doctors.
"She was in the incubator, and that was the first time we saw her. She was covered up and she had all these machines and wires and everything covering her face.
"This premature world only comes to light when you're going through it.... It was a really, really scary time."
Lorraine is available to watch on ITV1 weekdays at 9am and ITVX.
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