Former Strictly Come Dancing winner Ore admitted he is ‘ terrified ‘ to speak out but believes it is the right thing to do as he addresses his pornography addiction
TV host Ore Oduba has revealed he is getting professional help for a porn addiction that began when he was aged just nine.
The former Strictly Come Dancing star, 39, spoke to podcaster Paul Brunson about his problem as he said he wanted to highlight the issue of children seeing sexual imagery on social media.
Ore said: “This is me putting my life as it is on the line, to save my children and to guide anybody else’s children going into a world where at their fingertips, they can fall into something they never asked to.”
He added: “Part of me is terrified, the vast majority is terrified because I feel like, personally, for me, the rest of my life begins the day after this, as it’s a kind of a seminal draw-the-line moment”.
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Dad-of-two Ore said he was first shown adult images on a computer by a friend’s older brother. He said he was not immediately addicted but was intrigued, and it did not take long until he tried to find more and more images on TV, computers and in magazines – but he kept quiet about it because he felt shame.
The behaviour continued for decades with him keeping it separate from other elements of his life. On the We Need To Talk Podcast, he explained: “It’s very isolating. It was something that I just knew to be me. Just a part of me. Something that I would always go to to feel. If you ever felt worthless, if you ever felt rejected. It was always a thing.
” The reason that I felt like I needed to speak about this is because I wanted to be able to guide my own children when it comes to it, when it comes to them seeing stuff that is going to be there.
“They’re going to come across it in life, so many of life’s pitfalls, whether it’s drink, drugs, money. I was aware of the need to address it.
He continued, “One of the biggest problems we have societally is, in my opinion. Such a prevalence exists. It’s just so normal when we learn that 60% of kids discover it accidentally and that it appears on iPads. What will happen is that these children start self-educating themselves if we leave it.
From 2008 to 2013, Ore won the Strictly in 2016 and presented CBBC’s Newsround. Together with TV personality Portia Culmer, he has two sons named Roman and Genie. In 2024, the couple split up.
Ore added that one of his siblings, who was ten years old, was allegedly caught smoking, and their father threatened to send them to Nigeria to be educated away from their friends. Another factor contributed to his keeping his porn interest a secret because of this. He revealed earlier this year that his father passed away in 2023.
The Naked Truth organization’s spokesman said: “Ore’s story also emphasizes the value of safe family spaces where kids can freely discuss what they encounter online.
We applaud Ore for speaking up about this subject in such a sensitive and open manner.
* The We Need to Talk podcast with Paul Brunson, which is available right now, features Ore in the interview.
Source: Mirror
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