Fans of I’m a Celebrity have praised contestant Oti Mabuse for opening up about her daughter’s premature birth.
On Tuesday night’s episode (26 November) of the ITV show, ex-Strictly professional dancer Mabuse, 34, shared the poignant moment with fellow jungle-mate Reverend Richard Coles.
“My daughter was really, really tiny when she was born,” she said, describing the six weeks her baby had to spend in a neonatal intensive care unit as “hell”.
“It’s hell to be in the hospital, to hear those sounds, to not see your baby’s eyes for a week,” she went on. “It’s hell to constantly look for advice from the doctors.”
“I’ve already said a prayer for her actually.” 😭 #ImACeleb (TW: Childbirth) pic.twitter.com/ES6O4ZVGAO
— I'm A Celebrity... (@imacelebrity) November 26, 2024
Mabuse, who left her one-year-old at home with professional dancer husband Marius Iepure to head to the Australian outback, tried not to cry while sharing the worst bit of the experience: “Every night, you need to leave them, you need to leave your baby in someone else’s hands.”
Coles in turn opened up about his own heart-wrenching experience with a premature baby.
“I remember going once to baptise a little boy, a premature boy, he was born very premature, he was only just alive,” he said, pausing to hold back tears while Mabuse gave him a hug.
“I just remember he was this tiny little pulse of life, and David [Coles’ 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,” he continued.
Mabuse also revealed that she had sung to her daughter to connect with her while she was being kept in an incubator: “They find comfort in your voice. For two months, every single day we’d sing church music.”
She asked Coles if he might pray for her daughter, saying she would “really love that”, to which he replied: “I’ve already said a prayer for her actually.”
Viewers of the show praised Mabuse’s courage in sharing her story, with one fan tweeting: “Why am I tearing up listening to Oti open up about her daughter being born prematurely and see Reverend Richard connect with her on such a level. Oti and “Revo” Richard are such pure people, and the world needs more of that.” Another added: “Oti is an angel.”
