Ore Oduba has heartbreakingly admitted his ‘life went up in smoke’ as he opened up on his turbulent few years.
The presenter, 39, who won Strictly Come Dancing in 2016, said his Christian faith was the ‘only door that never closed on him’ in a heartbreaking admission.
After the devastating loss of his sister and father, as well as his divorce from ex-wife Portia last year, Ore said rediscovering his faith is what ‘saved’ him.
Speaking on John Reynolds’ Extraordinary Life Stories podcast, Ore said: ‘I found myself at point in my life where I had to be prepared to lose everything in order to save myself and when you find yourself at that point you realise that nothing matters other than your purpose.
‘In my case my kids and living your true authentic self. I started very much at the bottom about 12 or 18 months ago.’
On how he changed his life around, he added: ‘I don’t really recognise anything before now.
Ore Oduba, 39, has heartbreakingly admitted his ‘life went up in smoke’ as he opened up on his turbulent few years
After the devastating loss of his sister and father, as well as his divorce from ex-wife Portia (pictured) last year, Ore said rediscovering his faith is what ‘saved’ him
‘There was a big family change, my wife and I split up 12 months ago and the life before that and the life that I’ve grown into are just completely they are entirely different.
‘There are no similarities whatsoever other than me in body and I guess I found myself going I have to find a way out of this and it was definitely painful it was definitely confusing and I found myself wanting to learn more.
‘I’ve been doing therapy since 2023 trying to uncover this stuff and with that just reading listening seeking knowledge and you get to a point where you think you know it all and I was like I need to know more. I got back in touch with my faith in Christianity.’
After Strictly Come Dancing, Ore said his faith fell completely off a cliff, which he thinks was a negative turning point in his life.
He said: ‘Unknowingly I stopped praying and believing beyond and this is all unconsciously and I think I started to think I was now in control of what my life was supposed to look like.
‘I was going to look after the family we were going to start a family it was all on me and that level of control started building and building to a point where you think you’re in charge of your life and destiny.
‘But when things start well doing what life does and you’re not in control of it it is going to start sending you into a spiral that you just cannot get around.
‘And I think there was a point post Covid where the authentic me started screaming out was just so suppressed and so suffocated and so kind of terrified and I had no idea what was going on.
‘There was a big family change, my wife and I split up 12 months ago and the life before that and the life that I’ve grown into are just completely they are entirely different’, Ore said
After Strictly Come Dancing, Ore said his faith fell completely off a cliff, which he thinks was a negative turning point in his life (pictured in 2016)
Ore added: ‘My life was going up in smoke before my very eyes and I didn’t know what to do and as doors started shutting around me, the one door that was never closed was the Church. And it started again from there’
‘My life was going up in smoke before my very eyes and I didn’t know what to do and as doors started shutting around me, the one door that was never closed was the Church. And it started again from there.’
Ore also opened up on his sister’s heartbreaking suicide and revealed how their tragic loss has changed his whole outlook on life.
He told how his family have had have a ‘really difficult year’ amid the passing of sibling Lola, who died in April.
Ore vowed to ‘make the most of every single second’ as he reflected on his sibling’s ‘brave’ choice to find the peace in death that they couldn’t find in life.
Ore shared: ‘I guess we have been through a really difficult year as a family and I was very ready for that to kick off a new chapter in my life and it did. I’m grateful to him (Dad) for everything he gave us, I wasn’t prepared to lose my sister.
‘She has been with me every day since. My sister is non binary they told us in their goodbye letter. They’ve been with me every day since and what my sister did in choosing to find a peace in death that they couldn’t find in life; that was strength. That was courage and that was brave.’
He continued: ‘And having gone through the last four or five years of their life and hearing about their struggles physically and emotionally when actually my sister did more living in the actual five years of their life than the previous 32, and still made a decision that they couldn’t carry on living in this world.
Ore also opened up on his sister Lola’s heartbreaking suicide, who died in April, and revealed how their tragic loss has changed his whole outlook on life
Ore vowed to ‘make the most of every single second’ as he reflected on his sibling’s ‘brave’ choice to find the peace in death that they couldn’t find in life
‘What they did for all of us in those last weeks that has given me the strength every day and my responsibility now is to carry that legacy because nothing is hard compared to what my sister went through.’
The TV star then told how his sibling’s death has changed his perspective on life, as he vowed not to waste precious time on things that don’t really matter.
He explained: ‘We don’t know when our last day is and the truth of it is there isn’t time there isn’t time so I’m going to make the most of every single second I have left.
‘I can’t say enough when you have been through something that puts life into perspective your whole outlook changes. None of this stuff matters but you can wrestle what is really important back before it is too late so that is what I’m doing now.‘
Ore and Portia, who share two young children Roman, seven, and Genie, four, wed in 2015 – five years after they met at Loughborough university in 2010.
Announcing the split, Ore wrote: ‘Hi guys. Portia and I are sad to announce that we separated earlier this year. We’re so grateful for all the love you’ve shared with us both over the years.
‘And we want to thank you in advance for respecting our privacy as we navigated this difficult transition. We will be making no further comment. Be kind, always.’
