Oti Mabuse has defended her decision to join I’m a Celebrity one year after the birth of her daughter.
The former Strictly Come Dancing star’s baby was “very premature” and spent six weeks in a neonatal intensive care unit. Mabuse was also diagnosed with sepsis following the birth.
Of her decision to fly to Australia, Mabuse told The Mirror she would “never get another opportunity” to do the show as she wants to focus on other job opportunities and growing her family in the future.
Mabuse added she wanted her daughter to know that she is “fully committed and loves her so much” but also has career ambitions and will “do what she wants to do”.
“Mum has goals too,” she said. “And when she grows up, she’ll Google me and she’ll probably see it and be like ‘Yeah, my mum did that.’”
Mabuse is married to Marius Iepure, who she met in Germany in 2012 when they were paired together as professional dancers. They married in Denmark two years later.
The Dancing on Ice judge explained how she trusts Iepure entirely to take care of their baby while she’s in the jungle. “My daughter won’t remember it. It’s just a couple of days,” she said. “She’s with a lot of family and she’s with my husband who is amazing, and she’s in more than capable hands.
“He knows everything about her,” she added of Iepure’s bond with their daughter. “I don’t even have to think about having to trust, or not trust, or worry. I know he’s a capable father and he’s brilliant.”
The professional dancer’s daughter will be too young to come into camp when she leaves. However, Mabuse’s family will fly to Australia for the “magical moment” when they’re reunited on the drawbridge.
On Tuesday’s episode (26 November) of the ITV show, Mabuse opened up to fellow jungle-mate Rev. Richard Coles about her daughter’s premature birth.
“My daughter was really, really tiny when she was born,” she said, describing the six weeks her baby had to spend in a neonatal intensive care unit as “hell”.
“It’s hell to be in the hospital, to hear those sounds, to not see your baby’s eyes for a week,” she went on. “It’s hell to constantly look for advice from the doctors.”
She added: “Every night, you need to leave them, you need to leave your baby in someone else’s hands.”
Mabuse has long been one of I’m A Celeb’s most wanted campmates, with producers asking her to join the show for the past six years. “This was the year for me to do it and it just felt right,” she said of her decision.
Speaking about what she thinks her role would be ahead of her arrival in Australia, she said she will be the “fun dancing mum” and hopes to teach her fellow campmates some new moves.
The dancer said she signed up for the show because she wants to get back to her “adventurous and fun” self after giving birth to her daughter.
“I want to get back to the adventurous and fun Oti. I feel ready for a change and doing something completely different,” she said. “I will have no make-up, concealer, lashes – it’s going to be nice to be laid back.”
She added: “As a new mum, I am going to use it to my advantage. I am going to catch up on a whole year’s sleep!”
