Oti Mabuse attempted to conceal her pregnancy from her Loose Women co-stars during its early stages. The former Strictly Come Dancing professional, 35, who already has an 18-month-old daughter with husband Marius Iepure, announced on Thursday that she is expecting a second child.
Just hours after the announcement, Oti—currently filming in Italy—called into the ITV lunchtime chat show to update Kaye Adams, Denise Welch, Sunetra Sarker, and Judi Love. She explained that she found it difficult to hide the news from anchor Kaye and fellow journalist Jane Moore.
"I was at Loose Women and my husband was there," Oti said. "He said, 'Babe, you've just filmed the show with Kaye and Jane Moore, I don't think you can hide it from them.' He shifted a little bit to the left, to the right, [and said] 'It's so obvious!' I am four months now."
Since leaving Strictly in 2020, Oti has built a successful career at ITV with Dancing on Ice and I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! She also revealed that she struggled during the initial pregnancy stages while continuing to appear on air.
"I got loads of morning sickness, even at work," she added. "I have to be quiet on the panel just to make sure that the nausea goes away. I drink loads of peppermint tea, that was my thing, and ginger tea. The first trimester was hard but like anything, you get over it, so I survived it!"
On Thursday, Oti took to Instagram to share the news. She wrote: "Plot twist. We thought we had our hands full already, but life had even bigger plans. Baby No. 2 is joining the dance party, and our hearts (and house) are about to get a whole lot fuller."
Famous faces quickly sent well-wishes, including her sister Motsi Mabuse, who commented: "We love you, congratulations, the bigger the better." Former Strictly co-star Karen Hauer wrote: "Congratulations guys," while Gorka Marquez said: "AMAZING NEWS GUYS." Love Island winner Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, who competed on Dancing on Ice when Oti was a judge, said: "Congratulations Angel." Others included Emmerdale's Lisa Riley and Coronation Street's Alan Halsall.
Following the birth of her first child, Oti had expressed a desire for more children. In 2024, she said: "I’d like as many as I can afford." Speaking to The Times, she added: "What I have been through shocked me, but it made me even stronger. For the first time in my life I have a purpose, which is for my family to have a good life."
