Just let me be!
Sphe’s troubled past is haunting her life as a new mom.
Generations – The Legacy Weekdays SABC1 (*191) 20:00
The Moroka family’s daughter-inlaw Sphe (Pearl Monama) is as selfless as they come. She has dedicated her time to pleasing other people and on Wednesday 19 July, her estranged hubby Mazwi (Musa Ngema) forces her to go to dinner with him. “She is reluctant at first. Sphe isn’t keen on going out but she agrees to make him happy,” says Pearl. While he is trying to make up for cheating on her with his on-off mistress Nolwazi (Thando Thabethe), Sphe
just wants to spend time with their premature newborn daughter Rorisang (Lethokulhe Jiyane). They usually don’t agree on much, but “they are getting used to being new parents. They know that they need to make things work for the sake of Rorisang,” explains Pearl.
TOO LATE NOW
The only thing on Sphe’s mind is to build a happy family for baby Rorisang – she wants the best for her daughter and on Thursday 20 July she becomes paranoid about the newborn’s health. Sphe has overwhelmed herself with pressure and “she has been carrying around the guilt of almost aborting Rorisang, which may be the cause of the baby’s medical complications,” says the actress. Although the idea to get pregnant with her brother in-law Smanga’s (Moopi Mothibeli) child wasn’t hers, she blames herself for putting her daughter in a dangerous situation. “She went through a lot to fall pregnant. Sphe regrets trying to abort the baby and her biggest worry is the secret coming out that she slept with Smanga,” explains Pearl.
KEEP OUT
The Mabaso and Moroka families are concerned about Sphe and plan an intervention meeting on Tuesday 25 July. She thinks that the families are out of line but “Sphe puts the needs of the families before her own. She’s kept all their instructions about her living her life regardless of how she felt,” says Pearl. With the mounting stress from herself to be a good parent and the strain from her family to keep the secret, Sphe breaks down on Wednesday 26 July. She wants to make everyone happy but she realises that she can’t always keep her family smiling. Pearl says that “the stress is enough to push anyone over the edge! No one appreciates her efforts and sacrifices. She loses it when they gang up on her, expecting her to follow instruction once again”.
HEAD STRONG
While Sphe is angry with the families, she is able to gather herself together for the sake of her baby. She’s irritated with all the pressure that has been dumped on her on Monday 31 July and “Sphe goes on a rant when she feels like the family is treating her like a child,” says Pearl. She’s always been a team player, even when her mother Nandi (Brenda Mhlongo) was battling depression in late 2016. “Sphe points out how she’s always been there to pick up the pieces when Nandi had her meltdown. She says that she isn’t a problem and that the family should be worried about Nandi being around Rorisang instead,” teases Pearl.