Inside Oti Mabuse’s marriage from husband ‘clash’ to strictly ‘threat’ | Celebrity News | Showbiz and TV

Oti Mabuse is known for cutting shapes on Strictly, but what’s less known is that it was her dancing career that brought her together with her husband.

The South African dancer was looking for a professional dance partner in Germany when she met Marius Iepure.

Her sister Motsi Mabuse, who is herself a judge on the Come strictly dance panel, suggested a handful of men she thought would match her sister’s skills.

But Marius was the first to test her – and Oti quickly canceled all her other appointments.

Although their relationship quickly blossomed into a passionate romance, Oti has since admitted she almost walked out on Marius for good while they were training for the World Latin Championships.

During her appearance on a podcast about dance, she said: “I am a big personality and (Marius) is also a big personality. So it became a bit of a clash.

“There was a moment where he said to me, ‘No. You have to do this because you don’t know what you’re doing.’

“I turned around and said to him, ‘Let me tell you what I know. I know how to pack my bags and leave.”

That turned out not to be necessary, as Marius was impressed by Oti standing up to him, and this ignited a spark between them that only grew over time.

The couple married in 2014 and have remained strong ever since – but Oti has been open about the struggles they had with the possibility of the Strictly curse.

During an appearance on Loose Women in 2019, she revealed that Marius could be possessive, giggling: “He’s a real macho man… he always says, ‘Don’t touch my wife unless you have to.’ Unless you really have to, don’t do it.’

“He gives them a firm handshake and I say, ‘I see what you’re doing!'”

Luckily, she found her husband’s protective attitude “sexy,” adding, “When you’re standing there and your husband is threatening your dance partner, you’re like, ‘Yes, honey!'”

Marius confirmed he warned Oti’s dance partners before starting a season of Strictly, telling the Daily Mail: “We’re not crazy jealous people, but I say to guys, ‘Just watch where you put your hand, otherwise’ I’m going to find you.”

Despite these territorial displays, the Romanian dancer insisted he was not worried about the possibility of a celebrity one day causing a rift between him and his wife.

“I’ve heard about the Strictly curse, but I don’t have any problem with it,” he stated firmly. “I just can’t afford to get a divorce, so that’s not going to happen.”

Oti confidently added that no matter how attractive one of her dance partners was, it didn’t matter because “my man is hotter.”

Those days are now behind the couple, as she quit Strictly in February 2022 after seven years on the show.

Oti and Marius welcomed a daughter into the world on Christmas Day in 2023.

Shortly after announcing that they were the BBC series, Oti gave details of how supportive Marius has been during her toughest moments as a professional dancer, saying: “My husband has once again been an amazing person who has seen the dark days, the days when I stand in the shower crying with my clothes because it’s so hard and it’s so overwhelming.

“He’s seen me not eat, he’s seen me eat too much, he’s seen me struggle with not being able to get the best out of someone. He saw that I had to deal with interesting personalities.”