Strictly Come Dancing judge Motsi Mabuse started dancing competitively in the late 1990s.
And, during those early days, 44-year-old Motsi has previously revealed she struggled with her weight.
The star – on a repeat of Deal or No Deal with sister Oti today (May 17) – has been open about the criticism she’s received over the years with regards to her appearance.
And, despite putting her competitive dancing days behind her, Motsi has admitted she hasn’t shaken the pressure, as a dancer, to look a certain way or conform to a certain body type.
Motsi Mabuse on daily struggle against pressure to conform
The eldest of the two Mabuse sisters lives in Germany. She runs a dance school there, and remembers arriving in the country “with plastic bags and a 50p coin”. She’ll “never forget that feeling,” she has said. Nor will she be able to leave behind the “negative voice” inside her head when it comes to her appearance.
“It’s still there,” she told the Mirror in 2023. “The seed is sown when you start in the industry and it grows when you’re dancing. You have to stop it yourself and be like: ‘This is not realistic and you can’t look that way.’ Being able to shut down that negative voice is a daily fight.”
Dance teacher’s shock instruction and relationship with WeightWatchers
In separate interview, Motsi described her weight as a constant struggle.
“There’s so much focus not just on winning, but what you weigh,” she said.
A teacher once told her to lose weight when she only weighed 50kg. According to the NHS’ BMI calculator, a person of Motsi’s height (1.6m) weighing in at 50kg has a BMI firmly within the healthy category.
“Naturally, my body has changed since then, and my weight goes up and down.”
In a sad admission, Motsi said she believes she’ll “never get to the stage where I think I look great, but I’m now much more compassionate towards myself. A healthy mind, body and soul is more important to being thin.”
WeightWatchers published a feature on her weight-loss journey on its website in late 2020. She joined the organisation in her early twenties, and talked about having lost 14kg in two years.
The company recently filed for bankruptcy in the US amid a boom in fat-loss jabs
Motsi and Oti Mabuse’s episode of Deal or No Deal is on ITV1 Saturday May 17 at 7.15pm.
Read more: Motsi Mabuse on ‘traumatising’ upbringing in South Africa: ‘Survival of the fittest’
Can you relate to Motsi’s struggle? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think of this story.