Meet Strictly champion Oti Mabuse's husband Marius Iepure

Oti Mabuse had a fantastic end to 2019 after being crowned champion of Strictly Come Dancing alongside her celebrity partner Kelvin Fletcher, and we have no doubt that her husband, Marius Iepure, was cheering her on every step of the way! While he is not as well-known as the Strictly star, Marius has made occasional appearances on TV and of course, Oti enjoys chatting about her handsome husband from time to time, so find out everything you need to know about the Romanian dancer…

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WATCH: Oti Mabuse and husband Marius announce very exciting news

Who is Marius Iepure?

Marius is a 37-year-old professional dancer from Romania. He performed on Strictly in the group numbers in 2017, but he has never landed a pro dancer role on the BBC show. Not yet anyway!

MORE: Oti Mabuse reveals AJ Pritchard's Strictly announcement came as a surprise

The couple have been married since 2016

When did Oti Mabuse and Marius Iepure marry?

The professional Latin and ballroom dancers met in Germany during a dance trial. They competed together and took part in a number of competitions, winning gold at the German National Show Dance Championships and finishing second place at the World Latin Championships. Love blossomed and on his birthday in 2014, Marius popped the question. Oti and Marius do not have any children, but they have openly spoken about how they would one day like to start a family.

MORE: Oti Mabuse invites fans to her virtual dance classes - and you don't need a big space to join in

The pair tied the knot in 2014

The Strictly star has also revealed a little bit about the proposal, writing on Instagram in 2017: "Three years ago today this wonderful CRAZY man was annoying the life out of me because he was acting nervous (and yes I let him know I was annoyed) but it was only because he was nervous as he was GOING TO PROPOSE."

Marius (far right) took part in Strictly in 2017

What do Oti Mabuse and Marius Iepure think of the Strictly curse?

During the couple's appearance on Your Face Or Mine in February 2019, host Jimmy Carr joked to Marius: "Would you go on Strictly? Would you like to be one of the professional dancers on Strictly? Or do you think it would be awkward being in the same room as the man who's having an affair with your wife?" Oti then laughed and said: "No, my husband, he shows each and every single partner I have a warning. So they kind of stay away…" Marius then reassured Jimmy: "Don't worry – they understand very fast!" The comedian later joked that Marius reminds him of a movie villain, with the dancer obliging with a tongue-in-cheek impression, saying, "If you sleep with my wife, I'm gonna kill you." Marius has also joked about the so-called Strictly curse to the Daily Mail, saying: "I've heard about the Strictly curse, but it doesn't bother me one bit. I simply can't afford to get a divorce so it's not going to happen."

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