Strictly Come Dancing's Motsi Mabuse felt like a different person after perimenopause hit
Strictly Come Dancing judge Motsi Mabuse says she lost her identity after she began experiencing perimenopause symptoms at the start of 2025
Motsi Mabuse says perimenopause left her feeling like a different person.
The Strictly Come Dancing judge began experiencing symptoms at the start of 2025, leaving her unhappy with her body and wondering what version of herself she would wake up as each day, while Motsi was particularly upset that pain and low energy meant she could no longer dance with her 41-year-old husband, fellow dancer Evgenij Voznyuk.
She told the September issue of Woman's Health UK: "I’d go, 'Which Motsi am I meeting today? Is it the one who’s going to make me cry? Is it the one who’s happy? Is it the one who doesn’t want to see anyone?' You wake up every day discovering a new side of yourself. That’s menopause…
"I noticed a complete shift in my energy levels, and I started having pain in my knees. I had moments when I thought, ‘I’m not feeling [OK] in my body, I’m not comfortable with myself’… I love dancing with my husband, I love moving – and I couldn’t do that any more. It was making me unhappy."
A doctor delivered a stark health warning to Motsi, 45, after a full-body health check.
She said: "We did a full-body check-up and my doctor said, 'Mrs Mabuse, you can’t continue like this.'
"My parents and grandparents have type 2 diabetes, and I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant, and my doctor said, 'The numbers show that you’re at risk.' He said, 'If you want to stay healthy in the long term, we need to make some changes.'"
The warning prompted the dancer to focus on getting stronger rather than becoming smaller, while defending women who turn to weight-loss jabs to improve their health.
Motsi said: "I have a deep sense of empathy and pain for women because they’re never going to get it right. Women are shamed all their lives, and I’m not here to shame anyone. I have very close friends who need the help of GLP-1, and I’m not going to make them feel guilty…
"For me, this journey was never about becoming smaller. It was about becoming stronger. That’s my message to women, live your life. Do what you need to do to get healthy. You don’t owe anyone an explanation."
The entertainer has to remind herself to love her body after being told to lose weight when she was a young dancer.
She said: "Every dancer has had that conversation with a trainer who says 'lose weight' and it’s the most painful thing you’ll ever hear.
"[As I grew older] I had to learn to accept that my body wasn’t the body of an athlete dancer anymore and it would never look like it did…But I don’t think there will be a [time] in my life when I’ll say, ‘This is it! I’ve arrived!’
"[Even now] I have to remind myself to have love for my body. If I see somebody with a six-pack, I’ll channel my mind, 'You’re healthy, you’re doing the best you can for your body.'"
Motsi added that therapy has made her more in tune with her and Evgenij's eight-year-old daughter's mental wellbeing.
She said: "I take everything [my daughter] says really seriously. I ask her all sorts of questions because I want to know where she mentally…there’s nothing worse than your child having a mental [health] problem and you not being aware of it."
Motsi returns to the Strictly Come Dancing judging panel alongside Craig Revel Horwood, 61, Shirley Ballas, 65, and Anton Du Beke, 60, when the BBC Latin and Ballroom dance show returns in September.
And the star has shared how she is looking after her body ahead of filming.
Motsi said: "I’ll eat healthily, I’ll swim – and it’s not about dieting, it’s about giving back to my body. I expect so much from my body. I expect it to perform, to be a mum, to work, to travel, to dance. When I step onto the beach, I’ll be like, ‘Body, now it’s your turn.'"
The full interview is available in the September issue of Women’s Health UK.
