Oti Mabuse recently revealed she feels healthier than ever, despite facing criticism over her weight. Speaking on I'm A Celeb, the 34-year-old dancer opened up about her past struggles with extreme dieting, admitting she once relied on laxatives, starvation, and smoking, which even caused her to lose her period for months.
Now embracing a balanced lifestyle, she said: "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."
Oti has opened up about her struggles with body image, revealing she once relied on laxatives and starvation due to criticism over her weight.
Sharing her experience with fellow campmates, she said: "I get so many comments about my body," adding that articles often called her "fat." She explained that her weight gain was actually part of her recovery from an unhealthy lifestyle.
"It was me actually not starving myself, not being on laxatives, not smoking, being a vegan," she said, reflecting on the extreme measures she previously took.
Discussing the grueling demands of her dance career, Oti admitted: "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." She recalled how, despite being dangerously thin, she was praised for her appearance.
"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.'"
In a separate interview with The Times, she spoke about the negative comments she has received about her physique, describing them as "not nice".
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Oti, who has also been a judge on Dancing On Ice, remains an advocate for body positivity despite the criticism. "Women get put through the trenches a lot of the time," she said. "And I guess we do wear dresses, and it's about the fashion, and that's how people monetise it. But I was getting the most compliments when I was not having a healthy lifestyle, not making healthy lifestyle choices."
She continued: "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."
Oti, who first gained recognition on Germany’s Let’s Dance, joined Strictly Come Dancing in its 13th series, later winning with Kelvin Fletcher and Bill Bailey. In 2021, she departed the BBC show and transitioned to a judging role on ITV’s Dancing on Ice the following year, joining Jayne Torvill, Christopher Dean, and Ashley Banjo.
Speaking to The Times, Oti reflected: "But the biggest lessons you get are from the failures. The most successful people are the ones who have failed over and over and over again and not given up."
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