Oti Mabuse became emotional as she shared her premature birth story with Rev Richard Coles during Tuesday’s episode of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
The professional dancer, 34, discussed the birth of her daughter in November 2023 which she previously revealed left her with sepsis and diabetes.
Chatting with Richard, Oti explained how her baby was placed in an incubator after birth, and as she couldn’t hold her she used her voice to connect with her.
She said: ‘They find comfort in your voice. For two months, every single day we’d sing church music.’
Richard shared his own story, saying: ‘I remember going once to baptise a little boy, a premature boy, he was born very premature, he was only just alive…’
Stopping what he was saying because he was overcome with emotion at the memory, Richard fought back tears, as Oti got up to give him a hug.
Oti Mabuse became emotional as she shared her premature birth story with Rev Richard Coles during Tuesday’s episode of I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!
The dancer, 34, discussed the birth of her daughter in November 2023 which she previously revealed left her with sepsis and diabetes (pictured with her husband Marius Lepure)
He went on: ‘I just remember he was this tiny little pulse of life, and David [his then partner] got a pipette of water and we blessed it, and we baptised him and he survived and now he’s a healthy young footballer, which is great! But I just felt so… it was such a precious thing.’
Oti agreed: ‘They are, my daughter was really, really tiny when she was born. It’s hell. It’s hell to be in the hospital, to hear those sounds, to not see your baby’s eyes for a week, it’s hell to constantly look for advice from the doctors.’
Trying not to cry, Oti shared what she called the worst thing for her, which was that ‘every night, you need to leave them, you need to leave your baby in someone else’s hands.’
Saying that she can’t wait for Richard to meet her, Oti asked: ‘Maybe you can say a prayer over her, I would really love that.’
Richard admitted: ‘I’ve already said a prayer for her actually.’ With tears in her eyes, she thanked Richard and gave him a big hug.
Richard also opened up about the loss of his former partner, David. He confessed to Oti: ‘I miss him… He’s just left a massive hole in my life and I’m living my life around that loss.’
Oti and her husband Marius Lepure, 41, became parents in November 2023 after their newborn was born prematurely with an infection and spent six weeks in intensive care.
She is pre-diabetic and was diagnosed with gestational diabetes at 28 weeks, before also experiencing complications after the birth when she contracted sepsis.
Chatting with Richard, Oti explained how her baby was placed in an incubator after birth, and as she couldn’t hold her she used her voice to connect with her
She said: ‘They find comfort in your voice. For two months, every single day we’d sing church music’
Trying not to cry, Oti shared what she called the worst thing for her, which was that ‘every night, you need to leave them, you need to leave your baby in someone else’s hands’
Richard also opened up about the loss of his former partner, David. He confessed to Oti: ‘I miss him… He’s just left a massive hole in my life and I’m living my life around that loss’
Gestational diabetes is when you have high blood sugar during pregnancy, whereas pre-diabetes is when blood sugar levels above the normal range, but not high enough to be diagnosed.
Speaking previously on Loose Women, she said: ‘When I fell pregnant I got gestational diabetes and we have diabetes in the family but I didn’t really know what happens after you give birth.
‘Does it go away? Do you have to keep working? Years ago I would see pictures of models who would have a baby and within three weeks they’re back and walking the runway.
‘I’m in the bathroom, I’m crying, I probably haven’t washed in like three days. How am I going to snap back?’
‘It’s so difficult and my sister and I talk about this all the time. It’s really about being healthy.’
She revealed: ‘My reason for getting back into fitness was that I found out I was pre-diabetic actually.’
Shocked, Loose Women panellist Charlene White quipped: ‘Really?’ to which Oti responded: ‘Yeah I am still pre-diabetic and it’s about trying to get back to a point where I feel strong, I can handle my food, my sugar levels are right.’
Oti gave birth naturally and said she was ‘singing Chicago the whole time,’ with the problems arising afterwards.
Oti gave birth naturally and said she was ‘singing Chicago the whole time,’ with the problems arising afterwards
Richard was married to Anglican priest David Oldham for nine years before his death from alcoholism in 2019
She explained: ‘Once I gave birth to her it became more traumatic, I had sepsis and I didn’t know. I had all these things, I had the diabetes, I had pelvic pain so turning and getting up and walking was very painful.
‘Then I found out that I had sepsis. It was one thing over the other. We spent 10 minutes together and she was taken away with my husband and the doctors.
‘She was in the incubator and that was the first time we actually saw her. She was covered up and she had all these machines and wires and everything covering her face….
‘This premature world only comes to light when you’re going through it…. It was a really, really scary time.’