Dress:RuffTung
Ringandbangle:Aldo
Accessories
Earrings:CottonOnSTYLING Tsakane Ndlovu, Palesa Vilakazi and Gavin Mahlangu HAIR Sonnyboy @Sonny Magic Hair MAKE-UP Audrey Mofokeng STOCKISTS Aldo (011 884 4141) Castelo (011 883 8767) Colette (021 937 5436) Cotton On (www.cottonon.com) H&M (0860 690 707) Ditsala Designs (060 486 9476) Juan William Aria (072 272 9066) Ruff Tung (www.rufftung.co.za)their feelings. I could’ve faked it and moulded myself into what
would make him happy, but I didn’t want Alakhe to grow up in
a home where there was constant tension.” Separating with
someone often comes with the stigma of failure and the much-
dreaded ‘Abantu Bazothini’ syndrome. But Anele felt none of
those! “If my dad had it his way, we’d never have boyfriends or
get married — we’d just pop out kids! My dad can’t handle an
unhappy person in a relationship. He’s like, ‘Leave! Get out!
Bring back my child if you don’t know what to do with them’”.
Anele slowly introduced the world to Thoba Mkangisa, the
man who has stolen her heart. The pair met through a mutual
friend, but it was purely a chance encounter. “I met Thoba
when I was pregnant with Alakhe, in this very dining room. We
started dating when Alakhe was about two,” she says, blushing
in between giggles. Anele narrates how, on the day she first
encountered Thoba, she called her friend hoping they couldgo get some shisanyama. The friend happened to be at a braai
and said she was welcome to come over. Unbeknown to Anele,
she was headed to Thoba’s house.
An attentive host, Thoba — tended to Anele’s needs and
even insisted on reversing her car out the driveway as it was
difficult to navigate with her baby bump. However, she thought
nothing of his kind gestures. Their paths crossed again, two
and a half years later. Anele was invited for another social at
Thoba’s house. “Let’s just say it was Friday and by Sunday I had
moved in [chuckles]. At the time, I lived alone with Alakhe and
his nanny, Flo. During my weekend ‘visit’ I drove up and down
for about three days to fetch clean clothes. Thoba came along
on the fourth day. While busy packing a little overnight bag, he
just said, ‘We’re not going to do this up and down thing. Just
take everything ’. When we got back to his house, he’d moved
wardrobe to make space for me and also
oom.”
et’s allow a smitten girl to do all the talking,
shall we! “Thoba’s turning 43 and I’m 35,
so there’s a measured-ness about him.
He’s kind and gets that I’m a hot mess,” she
gushes. “There’s a comfort about him that
I really enjoy — he’s my favourite place.
He’s hilarious, engaging and a socialite”.
Just as Anele relates that Thoba has two
daughters from a previous relationship, the girls walk in with
their paternal grandmother — who’d taken them to get their
hair braided for the upcoming trip. The girls, who are mirror
reflections of their father, then shyly retreat to another room.
She picks up where she left off, “Thoba just wants a baby, guys.
I see us together for a very long time [chuckles].”GIVING BACK
Anele is an ambassador for Domestos, who are currently on
a massive drive to bring proper sanitation and running water
to underprivileged communities. “In March 2018, when five-
year-old Lumka Mketwa drowned when she fell into a pit
toilet at her school in Bizana, as a mother, I felt her mother’s
pain. I decided that as a society, we can’t always wait for the
government to do something ”. Anele’s roots are in the Eastern
Cape, where pit latrines are the norm, so she kickstarted the
project there. “In this country, kids already have big hurdles to
deal with — among them sexual harassment and poor quality
education. Let’s just take one obstacle away (sanitation).”
This social mission is in collaboration with the government.
The interview comes to a quick halt as Anele remembers she’s
running late for a make-up appointment. “I love permanent
make-up when I go on holiday. I can swim and do anything
without fussing about how I look”.
It’s the last shot of the day, the sun’s setting over the
Northcliff Koppies and everything’s tinged with a sunburnt
orange hue. Everyone, but Anele, is moving around listlessly
waiting for the final call. Dressed in a silver sequined mini
dress, she starts scaling the gate — hoping to nail the final
pose. When the final call is made, she shouts, “group picture”.
A sign that she’s definitely all about teamwork. ■40 |^ OCTOBER^2019 | WWW.TRUELOVE.CO.ZA
COVER STORY