Strictly judge Motsi Mabuse shares heartwarming message as sister Oti gives birth to first child

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Strictly Come Dancing judge Motsi Mabuse has congratulated her younger sister Oti on the birth of her first child.

In a Christmas Day Instagram post, Oti, who is a professional dancer and previously appeared on the BBC dancing show, shared images of her and her husband, Marius Iepure, in matching festive outfits with a Christmas tree in the background, while she held a baby in her arms.

“Merry Christmas,” the Dancing on Ice judge wrote. “Wishing you all a wonderful festive season and special memories with loved ones.”

Mabuse’s sister, Motsi, who is also a dancer and a judge on Strictly, wrote: “Congratulations…we love you!”

Then, in a separate Instagram post, Motsi expressed how “proud” she was of her sister and that she knows she will be a “fierce” mother.

“Nobody teaches you how to be an older sister and even though my sister is a mom, the instinct to help, to protect and to be there doesn’t stop,” Motsi wrote. “I want to protect her from everything but I know I can’t. “

She continued: “Sometimes I wish I wasn’t the first born because I think you inherit the responsibility. So so proud of you sis. You are going to be a fierce mom.”

More Strictly and TV stars joined Motsi in congratulating her sister, with former Strictly professional James Jordan, who is married to fellow Strictly star Ola, writing on Instagram: “What a perfect Christmas for all of you – sending love from the Jordans.”

Professional dancer Gorka Marquez put it simply: “BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT!”

Meanwhile, other big names in British TV have congratulated the dancer on the birth of her first child, such as presenter Rylan who excitedly wrote: “Oh gyal congratsssssss!!!!!!!,” while comedian Katherine Ryan:  “HELLO WELCOME BABY.”

The news comes after Oti previously shared that she and Iepure had experienced difficulties conceiving.

After announcing the news in August that she was expecting a baby, Oti said the couple had decided to stop trying to conceive before she fell pregnant because it “just got too much”.

While Oti had kept the due date of her baby under wraps, she had hinted that the newborn could be arriving at Christmas time when she wrote: “We love our little bundle of joy so much already… Christmas is about to get even louder.”

Oti was Iepure’s dance partner when they competed for Germany in show dance Latin in 2012. Iepure proposed to her in 2014 and they married later that year.

The dancer, 33, joined Strictly as a professional cast member in 2015 and went on to win the glitterball trophy in 2019 and 2020 with the Emmerdale actor Kelvin Fletcher and comedian Bill Bailey.

In 2022, she left the BBC dancing show and replaced the Doctor Who star John Barrowman as a judge on ITV’s ice skating show Dancing on Ice.

Meanwhile, her sister Motsi, 42, joined the BBC series as a judge in 2019 when she replaced Darcey Bussell.