Strictly’s Oti Mabuse knew her husband was ‘the one’ second they danced together

Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse fell for her husband the second they set foot on the dancefloor together.

The star, 30, tied the knot with fellow dancer Marius Iepure in 2012, after being set up by her sister, Strictly judge Motsi.

Oti, who won the BBC show last year with Emmerdale’s Kelvin Fletcher, knew there was a spark between herself and Marius right from the off.

They met with Motsi suggested they should dance together.

She told Red magazine: “When I said I wanted to become a professional dancer, Motsi suggested a few boys I could trial with as dance partners.

“Marius was the first and only try-out I had. I cancelled all the others. I was like, ‘This is the one’.”

Oti also spoke about the challenges facing the new series of Strictly, which is due to kick off soon amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

She said: “For the first part, all the pros will be quarantining, learning our group numbers and pre-recording them. We’ll have to be flexible to make the show work.”

Ambitious Oti isn’t one to let people stand in the way of her dreams.

She said: “I think it’s a good thing to be ambitious and to set your sights on things. When I say I’m ambitious, I don’t mean I’ll take people out to achieve what I want – I have my goals and they are mine. I work hard and I’m disciplined. If I try something, I know I’m going to give it 120%.”

South African star Oti also spoke about the Black Lives Matter movement, which has seen a surge of support ever since the death of American man George Floyd during his arrest by police.

Oti said that despite having many strong opinions on the matter, she doesn’t always feel the need to make them public.

She said: “Being the first black South African woman to do things in my industry has been an asset. I have so many opinions about [racism], but they’re personal. I don’t feel I can represent everyone because people have different experiences. What’s great is that now we feel empowered to share how we feel.”

* Read the full interview with Oti Mabuse in the October issue of Red, on sale the 2nd of September. It is available in all supermarkets and online at MagsDirect – https://magsdirect.co.uk/magazine-category/lifestyle/red