Pregnant Oti Mabuse thanked her loved ones for being 'anchors' during the 'hardest nine months' as she celebrated her first baby shower this weekend – after a difficult premature birth with her daughter.
The former Strictly Come Dancing star, 36, and her dancer husband, 44, announced they were expecting another baby back in June, with the couple posing for sweet Instagram snaps alongside their little one, two.
Their first child, whose name hasn't ever been revealed, was born in November 2023 – arriving about ten weeks prematurely and spending several weeks in the hospital before coming home.
In her post on Sunday, Oti expressed her gratitude for being able to mark the occasion this time around and revealed that it was a surprise bash.
She penned: 'My first ever baby shower. Marius, Motsi, Takkies and Thomas… how you managed to pull this off without me knowing is beyond me! I honestly never thought I'd have one, and it meant more than I can explain.
'The first time around, baby arrived before we ever got to this part. So getting to sit in a room full of my closest friends the people I call family and celebrate this little life was incredibly special.
'To you all who came or sent messages from beyond ❤️ Thank you for being my anchors through the hardest nine months.
Pregnant Oti Mabuse thanked her loved ones for being 'anchors' as she celebrated her first baby shower this weekend – after a difficult premature birth with her daughter
The former Strictly Come Dancing star, 36, and her dancer husband, 44, announced they were expecting another baby back in June
'For the visits, the check-ins, the concern, for helping with baby and toddler when we needed you, and for showing up even when I didn't know how to ask. You've held our whole family through so much.
'I am a fuller person because you are all in my life. I love you so much. Thank you for making me feel so loved.'
The South African professional dancer took to Instagram in June to reveal she was expecting a new addition to the family, sharing a series of sweet snaps with Marius and their daughter while showing off her bump.
In an accompanying caption Oti wrote: 'Plot twist… We thought we had our hands full already, but life had even bigger plans.
'Baby No. 2 is joining the dance party, and our hearts (and house) are about to get a whole lot fuller.'
The couple's two-year-old daughter, who was born ten weeks prematurely, suffered a traumatic birth and contracted sepsis.
Oti and choreographer Marius, who tied the knot in 2014, have never publicly revealed their daughter's name.
Despite admitting she was left suffering after the birth, when asked if she would like more children, Oti previously said: 'I'd like as many as I can afford. What I have been through shocked me, but it made me even stronger.
'For the first time in my life I have a purpose, which is for my family to have a good life. You can imagine if I'm ambitious in my work, how ambitious I am as a mum...
In her post on Sunday, Oti expressed her gratitude for being able to mark the occasion this time around and revealed that it was a surprise bash
She penned: 'The first time around, baby arrived before we ever got to this part. So getting to sit in a room full of my closest friends the people I call family and celebrate this little life was incredibly special'
In her pregnancy announcement post earlier this year, Oti wrote: 'Plot twist… We thought we had our hands full already, but life had even bigger plans'
'This industry has its ups and downs but I love it and I'm doing it all for my baby and my husband. I'm the breadwinner and I am taking care of my family.'
In 2024, Oti detailed the trauma of giving birth and the subsequent pain of seeing her daughter so ill: 'You hug but then the baby gets taken away.
'And then the next time you see them they're in a box, wired up, not well, under blue light.
'I remember crying because I couldn't get the wheelchair close to her bed. Emotionally it was very exhausting. I didn't get to hold her for about a week.
'In the moment I was not traumatised. It was all I knew. Even when you have moments of weakness, when you feel like, 'Oh my God, I'm discombobulating'.
'You do what you have to do to be a good mum, to be strong for your daughter and be there for her, to change her and feed her and do skin to skin.'