Being chastised for getting healthy is especially cruel. It’s the kind of irony that seems too bizarre to be true, but Oti Mabuse experienced precisely that. The South African dancer, who spent years competing at the highest level of British entertainment on Strictly Come Dancing, was the target of remarks about her weight because, for the first time in her adult life, she was genuinely taking care of herself rather than because she was in decline.
Oti has been remarkably honest about what those early years of dancing really looked like behind the sequins and glitter. She was merely surviving, not flourishing. According to her own account, she lived off of adrenaline and very little food, was underweight, and had not had her period for months. Drinking but not eating, dancing all day, and showing skin to her ribs. “Back then it was like, ‘Oh, she’s amazing, she’s got a nice body,'” she recalled, sounding somewhat disillusioned. At the exact moment when her body was most strained, she received the praise.
Her body changed when she gave up those habits, including restriction, cigarettes, veganism, and proper self-nourishment. And the remarks began. It’s possible that the majority of people who left those comments never once thought that the weight they were criticizing was proof of recovery rather than indulgence. They probably didn’t think of that when they hit send.
Oti’s story resonates beyond celebrity rumors because it challenges a notion that most people take for granted: that having a smaller body is always healthier and that having a particular appearance equates to being well. In an I’m A Celebrity chat with Maura Higgins that felt surprisingly authentic for prime-time television, she challenged that presumption. No careful PR framing, no performance. Just a woman making it clear that the healthiest version of herself was also the one who received the most criticism.
She dropped from a size 18 to a size 10 before her live tour, a change she has recently talked about, but it happened later, on her terms, and at her own pace. She has made it apparent that getting a certain appearance was never the driving force. It had to do with feeling powerful enough to give her best effort. She seems to care a great deal about the distinction, and maybe more people should. Changing your body because you want your life to look a certain way is not the same as changing it because strangers on the internet told you to.
Another layer was added by motherhood. Oti was candid about the emotional complexity of witnessing your body change once more, this time for completely different reasons, following the birth of her daughter in 2023. She said, “My body has had its ups and downs,” to Women’s Health. “It’s been such a rollercoaster, but I think it’s normal to experience that as a woman.” It’s worth stopping to consider the honesty there. It takes something for a woman whose career was built on the accuracy of physical performance to admit that she is unsure about her own body.
It’s difficult to ignore the fact that Oti has managed everything—the scrutiny, the humiliation, the metamorphosis, and the postpartum phase—with more poise than the majority of the criticism aimed at her merited. She dismissed the criticism of the jungle with a laugh. She presented her weight gain as proof that she was getting better. She spoke of her daughter with a kind of fierce, amused love, claiming that the young child is “determined” just like her and that this scares her a little. Throughout, that self-awareness remains constant. It implies a person who has given careful consideration to her identity, independent of her appearance or weight.
Observing all of this in public raises the question of what exactly people were hoping to see. A dancer who starved herself until she reached a shape they liked and remained there? As it happens, Oti Mabuse had different ideas. She recovered, gave birth, resumed her tour, and continued to be open about the entire difficult process. That isn’t a transformation story in the conventional sense. It’s a little more intricate and possibly much more fascinating.
FAQs
1. Why did Oti Mabuse gain weight after leaving Strictly Come Dancing?
Her weight gain reflected recovery from years of unhealthy habits, not poor lifestyle choices.
2. Was Oti Mabuse’s weight gain related to having a baby?
Yes, motherhood in 2023 contributed to further natural changes in her body.
3. How did Oti Mabuse respond to body-shaming comments about her weight?
She publicly stated her heavier body was actually the healthiest she’d ever been.
4. What dress size did Oti Mabuse drop to after her weight loss transformation?
She went from a size 18 down to a size 10.
5. What was Oti Mabuse’s motivation for losing weight ahead of her tour?
She wanted enough physical strength to perform at her desired level.
