Strictly’s Oti Mabuse reveals why she quit show after ‘dark days’ crying in shower

Strictly Come Dancing star Oti Mabuse, who sadly decided to quit her role as a professional dancer on the BBC One show last year, has opened up on the real reason for her departure.

In an emotional new interview, the talented TV favourite, who is now a judge on Dancing On Ice alongside Ashley Banjo and ice skating superstars Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, admitted she spent days overwhelmed by the experience.

Oti, 33, also revealed that she'd spent days "crying in the shower" as she struggled to cope with the intensity of trying to train her partners and help them to improve.

With less than a week to learn a brand new dance throughout the competition, all the pro dancers have a monumental task ahead of them.

While Oti was blessed with two fantastic contestants, that wasn't always the case.

The South African dancer admitted that many people questioned why she had decided to leave the dance floor after the news broke last year.

But in a candid interview, the pregnant star explained that making history on the dance competition didn't change her mind.

"I was met with a lot of, 'Why would you leave? You're happy, you are at the top of your professional game, your personal game," she said in the All Change podcast. "'You won the show. Why would you leave?' And I was like, 'because of that'.

"That is the wrong question to ask, 'why would you leave?' The right one is, 'what's next?'" the star went on.

Oti praised her husband Marius Lepure, whom she is now expecting her first child with, for helping her to get through the "dark days" during her seven years on the show.

She recalled how her partner had seen her crying in the shower with her "clothes on" because the competition was "so hard" and so overwhelming".

She also revealed that her husband had had to deal with her when she didn't eat much at all or the complete opposite as a coping mechanism, as well as the struggles of not being able to train her partners.

The dancer also shared how she struggled to cope with certain "interesting personalities" on the show over the years too, but wouldn't reveal who.

"I said to him, 'do you think I'm finished?' and he was like, 'yeah I think'," the star added.

Oti won the series twice with her incredible choreography skills and connection with her celebrity partners.

The dancer's first Glitterball trophy was with former Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher, and her second was with musical comedian Bill Bailey.

Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturdays and Sundays on BBC One.

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