Ola Jordan drops from a size 14 to an 8 in six months as she and husband James ... trends now

Ola Jordan has dropped from a size 14 to an eight in just four months as she and husband James show off their stunning weight loss – after shedding a combined 6.5 stone.

The ex-Strictly professional, 40, admits she yearned for her former dancer body and doubted if she would ever have a flat stomach again after becoming a mum for the first time in 2020 and gaining weight during the pandemic. 

Her self-esteem was so low that Ola would refuse to leave the house and she felt a shadow of her former self compared to the confident pro who would compete on Strictly every Saturday night in glitzy, revealing dresses.

After posting a photo on Instagram and admitting she was 'horrified' and 'disappointed' by her figure, Ola and James, 44, vowed to overhaul their lives – and now they're feeling better than ever.

Ola told MailOnline: 'I feel like I've lost a whole person.

'A size 14 was my biggest. I'm quite short as well so a size 14 for some people isn't big and that's the problem with weight and sizes because some people say a 14 isn't big. But being 5ft3 and a size 14 is big.

'I'm a size eight now. I missed my old self. There's nothing wrong with admitting it.

'People now preach body positivity, and they accept it, but I really missed my old self and that's not just my body it was with dance and everything else. Health is important for me, and I want to stay healthy for as long as I can.'

James added: 'We have lost six-and-a-half stone between the two of us. This has been since the summer after the photo we took on July 20.' 

Ola's motivation to drop three dress sizes came after she realised her physical appearance had changed so much that she no longer recognised herself.

The photo of her and James taken in July shows the couple, who share daughter Ella, two, in their swimwear following years of unhealthy eating.

Former Dancing On Ice star James says he was drinking up to three calorific hazelnut lattes per day while he failed to move his body, admitting the sad loss of his father caused him to suffer from brain fog and low moods.

Ola felt the same way – ducking out of red-carpet appearances and hiding at home until she was ready to face the potential trolling and backlash by posting the bikini picture and finally taking accountability.

She said: 'For me it was my stomach. I used to think, is that it? Is that my stomach after pregnancy? Am I never going to lose that? But I have. I've got a nice flat tummy now. My face changed a lot. When I look back at pictures, I'm like I was so swollen.

'People said after pregnancy I would just snap back because I'm a professional dancer but I'm the same as everyone else. I sat there in my baggy clothes during lockdown stuffing my face and I didn't dance. My body was not going to snap back.

'I didn't want to get dressed up and nothing fitted me anymore. That was my breaking point. 

'I was hiding. I was in denial. People were saying there are a lot of mums that look like that you're fine but if you're not happy, you're not happy.'

James continued: 'I hated my gut. I saw a few pictures of me – whether it be playing golf and out with friends and my gut actually hung over the top.

'I couldn't wear a certain belt because every time I wore it – I'm quite hairy and I have a hairy chest and my belly hair used to hang over the top of my belt and get caught.

'We looked like every bee in a hive had stung us. We were honestly both so fat!'