Lauren Oakley has admitted to 'finding it hard' when it comes to social media as the Strictly Come Dancing star shared a candid update with fans.
The professional dancer had an unexpected end to 2024 as she made it to the final of the BBC One dance contest. Lauren wasn't originally JB Gill's partner for the show's 20th anniversary series.
The JLS star was initially paired with Lauren's fellow pro Amy Dowden who made her triumphant return to the ballroom after having to miss the previous run due to undergoing treatment for cancer.
But two months into the series and an injury heartbreakingly forced Amy out of the competition following the show's Halloween special with Lauren stepping in. JB and Lauren went on to compete in the grand final of Strictly in December where they lost out on lifting the Glitterball trophy to eventual winners Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell.
Lauren hasn't stopped dancing going into the new year, having joined by both JB and Amy as the first trio to take part in the Strictly Come Dancing Live tour and she's also been on the stage with Strictly judge Anton Du Beke for his tour, Anton Du Beke: At the Musicals.
But Lauren has recently opened up to fans about her presence on social media. She first shared a posted about textile waste and admitted: "Finding it SO hard to shop, and stay 'fashionable' recently (over the last 5 years, ha!) because I can't justify it for an Instagram pic."
It led to the 34-year-old opening up further to her loyal following as she followed-up the post with a typed-out message which read: "I've been thinking this for a while, and that post inspired me to write my thoughts. I'm also finding it really hard to use social media at the moment to. I feel like there's a lot of pressure on 'aesthetic', and the word itself turns me.
"Let's be real, enjoy the samll things, not worry about what other people think, inspire others and be mindful with what we post. It's damaging to young people to always think about what they don't have and that they have to keep up with an 'Instagram lifestyle'."
She added in the though-provoking message: "Life is beautiul, but not perfect. Enjoy monents and enjoy each other. Enjoy posting and sharing, but without the pressure! If you stayed this long to read, thanks [crying laughing emoji]."
But one thing Lauren doesn't need to worry too much about is her return to Strictly as she has been confirmed as being among the pro dancer line-up for 2025.
The BBC announced the news earlier this month and joining Lauren back on the dancefloor for series 23 of the hit dance show are Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Amy Dowden, Karen Hauer and Neil Jones.
Also heading back to the dancefloor are Nikita Kuzmin, Gorka Marquez, Luba Mushtuk, Jowita Przystal, Johannes Radebe, Aljaž Škorjanec, Katya Jones, Nancy Xu, Carlos Gu, Kai Widdrington, Michelle Tsiakkas and Vito Coppola.
The BBC also revealed last week that two brand new professional dancers will also be joining the lin-up, with the new pros set to be revealed closer to the return of the show.
Following the news of her return, Lauren took to Instagram with a video of her dancing as she recorded some of her opening shots for last year's series and said; "Baby I’m back!! So grateful to be back for my 4th series of @bbcstrictly. See you all real soon!"
