Oti Mabuse quit Strictly after 'crying in the shower' over intense pressure
Oti Mabuse quit 'Strictly Come Dancing' after regularly "crying in the shower" over how intense it was training some celebrities.
The 33-year-old star struggled with the immense pressures put on the professional dancers to get their celebrity to learn a whole new routine within just under a week, and found it "so hard" and so overwhelming", that she would sob in the shower with her clothes on still.
Oti, who is pregnant with her first child with husband Marius Lepure, admitted that even being at the height of her career and lifting the glitterball on the BBC show wasn't enough for her to stay, and some couldn't get their heads around why she would give it all up.
Speaking on the 'All Change' podcast, she said: "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. "'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?'"
Oti would either hardly eat or binge eat to cope.
Whilst she didn't mention any names, Oti said she couldn't get on with some "interesting personalities" on the show.
Her husband was fully supportive of her decision to leave as it wasn't good for her health.
She added: "I said to him, 'Do you think I'm finished?' and he was like, 'Yeah I think.'"
Oti swapped 'Strictly' to become a judge on rival show 'Dancing on Ice' and she also has her own weekend chat show, 'Oti Mabuse's Breakfast Show', on ITV.
Oti is said to be viewed as one of "ITV’s golden girls” - despite her show ‘Romeo and Duet’ lasting just one season.
A source previously told The Sun newspaper’s TV Biz column: “Oti is still considered one of ITV’s golden girls and bosses are delighted with her as a judge on 'Dancing On Ice', so they’re sure she’ll be a hit.”
