Romance reaches lofty heights at the Pink Polo
After a busy year, high-profile couple find time for love
● He was Tamaryn Green’s biggest supporter, flying to Thailand to raise the South African flag in the audience when the 2018 Miss SA competed in the Miss Universe beauty pageant last year.
And after her Miss SA reign ended, the friendship between Tamaryn and rising businessman Ze Nxumalo turned into a whirlwind romance.
The towering couple made their first public appearance together last Saturday afternoon at the Pink Polo event, presented by skincare company Biomedical Emporium and held at Val de Vie in Paarl.
“I had a crush on her for a long time,” Ze says sheepishly as I chat to the couple in the VIP paddock.
However, with her beauty queen responsibilities and varsity medical studies, love was the last thing on Tamaryn’s mind.
“I did think: this man is amazing,” Tamaryn admits, after having met the businessman — whose portfolio includes a share in Transaction Capital Akwande and a South African Taxi Foundation directorship — a number of times during her reign.
All that changed in August after the brunette handed over her crown. Now, with Tamaryn set to complete her MBChB degree at the University of Cape Town at the end of the year, moving up to Joburg where Ze is based is on the cards.
From a budding romance to the man who is arguably the country’s most eligible bachelor.
That’s gold-medal Olympic swimmer Ryk Neethling, who these days spends less time in the pool and more time promoting Val de Vie as the sprawling estate’s marketing director and shareholder.
“I used to do 10km in the morning and at night, but these days I do 800m and then I’ve had enough,” says Ryk.
This year marked the 10th year of the “polo with a purpose” event, which pays tribute to survivors of breast cancer.
The rose-coloured theme had another meaning for the day’s MC, expectant mom Rolene Strauss. “We started buying everything pink because the gynae told us it might be a girl,” quipped the 2014 Miss World. Turns out, though, that she and husband D’Niel are having another boy.
Who else turned up? Paler than an English rose, actress Khanyi Mbau, in a dress more suited to the Oscars than a day out with the horses, and another loved-up couple, actor Clint Brink and his wife Steffi van Wyk, who reality TV junkies will recognise from the recent Survivor SA. I spotted TV presenter Nico Panagio, Heinz Winckler (remember him?), Minki van der Westhuizen and Expresso presenter Katlego Maboe.
The Hisense team took the trophy with six goals to the Biomedical Emporium team’s five. Foodwise, we were served canapes such as red-velvet-crumbed prawns with avocado mousse, arancini balls and Cajun chicken in mini baps.
And as the sun went down, we all got up and jolled to the tunes of the Kiffness, the Cape Town electronica act that’s as cool as Faf’s flag undies.