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14th November 2024
06:00pm GMT
Former Strictly Come Dancing star Oti Mabuse has defended her decision to join this year's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here.
The mum was hit with backlash because she would be leaving her baby girl for weeks but Oti has stressed that this is one opportunity she doesn't want to miss.
She also pointed out that her 13-month-old daughter won't remember the few weeks her mum wasn't there.
She explained, "I think it's nice for her to see that mum is fully committed and loves her so much. But also, mum wants to do what she wants to do.
"You know, mum has goals as well, and I think it's something as mums, we can all kind of be proud of, that we can be these incredible human beings as well as accomplish things that we want or reach our goals or do things that are fun for us. And when she grows up, and she'll Google me, and she'll probably see it and be like, Yeah, my mum did that."
Mabuse was approached by the I'm A Celeb team on multiple occasions and decided this was the right year to take part.
Strictly's Oti Mabuse is absolutely buzzing to be in Australia as she gets ready to head into the I'm A Celeb jungle! pic.twitter.com/7dQ3PBYqYs
— The Sun (@TheSun) November 12, 2024
"I've always wanted to be a part of the show in some capacity, and I felt like right now, this year is the only year for me to do it because I'll probably never do it again.
"I'll never get another opportunity to do it again. I'd love to grow my family. I'd like to do other things. And so this was the year for me to do it, and it just felt right."
"My daughter won't remember it. It's just a couple of days. She's with a lot of family, and she's with my husband who is amazing, and she's in more than capable hands," she stressed.
Mabuse may be a mam but she's so much more than that one role.
Like the dancer said, she's entitled to have her own goals and personal achievements outside of motherhood. She's doing something for herself and something she's wanted for quite some time.
Seeing her take on this challenge is something we should celebrate. She shouldn't be slated because she's spending a short amount of time away from her child.