STRICTLY Come Dancing icon Motsi Mabuse has finally revealed the truth about her slim new look – and what sparked the shock change.
In our exclusive chat, the Glitterball judge also talks pal Shirley Ballas, why her relationship with sister Oti has changed and THAT Dianne Buswell controversy.
WHEN the latest series of Strictly Come Dancing kicked off a few weeks ago, it wasn’t what was happening on the dance floor that had audiences talking – it was judge Motsi Mabuse’s amazing new look.
The 44 year old, who joined the panel in 2019, looked toned and trim after a super-healthy summer.
While many celebrities have been reaching for the fat jabs to drop the pounds, Motsi has opted for good, old-fashioned nutritious food and exercise.
And it’s not just looking her best on TV that has sparked her motivation to get fit. She has another unusual reason for wanting to get in shape, too.
“The main one is menopause,” she says.
“I hate the fact that every podcast or everything I see online about it is based on fearmongering. I’ve never heard anyone say, ‘Don’t worry, it’s not that bad!’ I even asked Shirley Ballas. ‘Will it be OK?’ and she shook her head, saying, ‘No, it’s going to be a ride!’
“I am preparing for what may come,” Motsi explains. “I want to be ready. I’ve done an overhaul of my diet. I’m doing weights and building muscle. I’m eating nuts, fruit and salad.
“I’m going to the sauna three times a week, as it helps reduce your cortisol levels. I find ice baths are good for my mental health, too.”
Her fellow judge is clearly a role model for Motsi. “Shirley is my inspiration – she’s 65 and looks incredible.
“On tour, we shared a dressing room together, so I got to know her so much better.
“She is such a tough, strong lady, and so disciplined. She would say, ‘Motsi, we are going to be healthy on this tour.’ We did it together and have been motivating each other.”
And it’s not just a working relationship, either. “We keep in touch all year. She messaged me in the summer, asking, ‘Are you working out?’ We are WhatsApping workouts all the time.”
The South-African-born dancer has been taking her new regime very seriously.
“This summer, I was on a Greek island eating fruit, swimming and doing Pilates, and now my daughter has started school it’s easier for me to find time.
“But it’s causing me anxiety now that Strictly has started again. I did think, ‘How am I going to keep doing this?’ That’s my biggest challenge – making it work, especially when I’m on tour.”
I have a sweet tooth, too, and I’m a stress eater. If I’m calm, it’s pineapple and berries. When I’m stressed, I want muffins and Crunchies
And it doesn’t help that there seems to be temptation at every turn.
“Everywhere you go in England, there are nice treats! I can’t resist a sausage roll. I have a sweet tooth, too, and I’m a stress eater. If I’m calm, it’s pineapple and berries. When I’m stressed, I want muffins and Crunchies.”
Her jet-set lifestyle, as glamorous as it sounds, doesn’t help on that count, either.
“Travelling and having to wake up at 3am in the morning to fly to London can cause me stress. My husband [dancer Evgenij Voznyuk, 41, who she married in 2017] and I have been really looking into the structure of our life and trying to make it so we can manage it easily.”
It seems incredible that Motsi hasn’t always felt as fit as she can be. After all, she started dancing when she was just six, before going on to become an eight-time South African Latin American champion, as well as winning the German Latin dance title in 2013.
“Yes, I was a competitor. But I wasn’t like this about my fitness,” she explains. “I didn’t have the insight, but I’ve been reading a lot, so I am ready to make the changes now.”
And she’s nothing if not prepared. “I have a gym in my house. For my birthday this year, I said I only wanted gym stuff. If I don’t have time, I’ll do 20 minutes, but when I’m not busy I will do an hour on the treadmill, then my weights, then I’ll see my personal trainer, then I’ll do the sauna.”
And what about the trolls that continue to criticise her appearance?
“Nobody can be harder on me than myself,” she says. “But I’ve been in the spotlight for nearly 20 years, so you learn what to take seriously.
“If somebody writes something mean and I want to react, I write back, but I don’t send it. I put all the anger in and the next day, I delete it and let it go.”
‘Really settled’
Trolls aside, Motsi is thrilled to be sitting alongside fellow Strictly judges Craig Revel Horwood, Anton Du Beke and her bestie Shirley for another series.
“It’s lovely to be back,” she says. “I sit between Craig and Shirley, and sometimes I’m stuck in the middle being ‘Switzerland’,” she laughs.
“It’s all fun. I’m part of the furniture now and feel really settled.
“Going on the live tour last year with everyone and spending time with them outside the studio meant we got to connect differently.”
If you watch carefully, Motsi does a special manoeuvre at the start of the show to send a message to her daughter back in Germany.
“She watches the show and each week she will say, ‘Blow a kiss,’ or ‘Make a heart with your hands.’ She makes up little dances I’ve got to do, so she knows it’s a secret sign just for her.”
Despite having had a lot of fun on the road with the Strictly team in previous years, Motsi has ruled out going on the annual arena tour in 2026.
“As a working mum, you have to make those balancing decisions,” she explains.
“I have one child starting school, so I experience everything just once. It’s for the first time and the last time. I need to know that she’s fine before I can do things. Everybody [at Strictly] was very understanding. I loved doing the tour, so I’ll be back next time.”
At a moment where women are told they can have it all, it’s refreshing to hear Motsi admit it’s OK to prioritise children and family over your career.
As long as the doctors thinks she is fine, let the woman dance! Dianne just has to trust her body and know what she is capable of. It’s lovely news
“We live once,” she says.
“It is about making those tough choices. Sometimes a mum has to go to work, because if you don’t, your kids will not eat. If you are lucky enough to be able to make decisions like I did, then take them.”
The mum-of-one is also excited by news that Strictly professional Dianne Buswell is pregnant with her first child with partner Joe Sugg, who she met on the show seven years ago.
She’s making Strictly history as the first pro to compete while expecting, although some viewers have said it makes them “uncomfortable”.
“We had a dancer on Let’s Dance in Germany who was pregnant with twins, and they danced the whole time,” she says.
“My doctor said to me, ‘You’re not sick, you’re pregnant.’ I danced until the baby came! Well, not quite, but we all do it.
“Our bodies can do it. As long as the doctors thinks she is fine, let the woman dance! Dianne just has to trust her body and know what she is capable of. It’s lovely news. A Strictly baby is a blessing.”
As well as her own daughter, Motsi has fully embraced the role of auntie after her little sister and former Strictly pro, Oti, 35, welcomed a daughter in November 2023. Becoming mothers has brought them even closer.
“It’s definitely changed our relationship,” Motsi says.
“We’ve realised that we are actually speaking more openly since she became a mum. We want our kids to grow up close, so we make a lot of effort to see each other, and we are such a support to each other.
“We’re in the same business, so we go through the same things. It’s nice just to speak to somebody and hear another person’s perspective where you completely trust them.”
But big sister Motsi has had to be careful not to overstep boundaries.
Luckily, my daughter has fallen in love with South Africa
“Since Oti had the baby, I feel like I’ve got two of them to look after. I feel responsible for them both.
“But Oti is her own person as well. Every time I give her advice, she does the opposite, so I think, ‘Shut your mouth, Motsi!’ I just wait for her to come to me. I have decided that maybe I shouldn’t try to be her advisor.”
Motsi is determined to educate her daughter on her South African roots, and explain what her own childhood was like growing up with apartheid, where dance classes for black children didn’t even exist.
“We are bringing up our children in Europe. So the only way to transport our heritage is through us. I try to give her the lessons to be aware.
“Luckily, my daughter has fallen in love with South Africa. She speaks three languages already – German, English and Russian.
“I don’t want her to ever feel like she has no choices. While she doesn’t have the segregation of South Africa and she might not have the tough life we had, she will face challenges.
‘Thankful’
“We can see where Europe is at the moment. It’s good to have an understanding that the world as it is, is tough. But I tell her, ‘We can change the story’.”
And despite dance giving her such an amazing career, Motsi is discouraging her own daughter from following in her footsteps, over fears she will be judged as a nepo baby.
“Unfortunately, she’s learning to dance,” she says, sighing.
“I do not want her to compete, but if she wants to, we will support her. She absolutely loves musicals, and she’s good at it. The dance world is a very tough education.
“Her parents are champions, so if she takes my surname or her dad’s, she’s never going to have a clean slate. She will be judged harder. One of the German champions at the moment is always described as ‘so-and-so’s son’.
“Also, you are criticised for everything – your weight, how you look – and I see those 12 year olds in the dresses with the hair and make-up, and I think, ‘No, I want to keep her young!’
“She’s doing karate and swimming, too, so she can compete in those. If you swim in a race and you are fastest, you’ve won. Dancing is so subjective.”
Having achieved so much, is there anything Motsi would still like to do?
“I’d love to do something with my sister. We are always looking for projects that we can do together. But honestly, what’s better than Strictly? Where could I go from there?” she laughs.
“I’m just thankful. Whatever comes, comes, and if it doesn’t, it’s all good.”
- Watch Strictly Come Dancing, Saturdays and Sundays, BBC1 and BBC iPlayer.
