Strictly Come Dancing siren Oti Mabuse says her sister Motsi is not only a good judge on the BBC show but a good judge of her love life after introducing her to her husband.
The 30-year-old ballroom siren says German hubby Marius Iepore was among a short-list of dancers her big sister lined up for her with when she first decided to ditch her civil engineering degree and follow her footsteps.
‘When I said I wanted to become a professional dancer, Motsi suggested a few boys I could trial with as dance partners,’ Oti told Red magazine of her 39-year-old TV star sibling.
And it was first time’s a charm both in finding a dance partner and in the matchmaking stakes.
‘Marius was the first and only try-out I had. I cancelled all the others. I was like, “This is the one”,’ admitted Mabuse, who then mixed business with pleasure with 38-year-old Iepure.
Their eight year marriage came into the spotlight last year after she enjoyed several late night caps with celebrity partner Kelvin Fletcher during last year’s show on their way to lifting the glitterball crown.
As for what life could have been like for the South African beauty, she said: ‘I studied civil engineering at university but, when I qualified, I found myself having to travel a lot for work, going to different sites in different parts of the country, which meant I had to give up dancing. And that just felt very weird. It didn’t make sense.’
She added: ‘One day, I got home and said: “Mum, it’s just not working out for me.” She was like, “Okay, then do what you need to do. But if you want it, you have to learn how to get it on your own.” So I just said, “Cool, okay, I’m going back to dancing and I’m moving to another continent.”’
Since then Oti has been breaking down barriers including racist hurdles.
The dancer stated: ‘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 September 2.
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