Celebrity – Ntombi Ngcobo
Metro FM presenter NTOMBI NGCOBO, 32, is carving an independent career for herself.
“The year 2016 saw me become co-host of
Who’s Show Is It Anyway? on Metro FM alongside Somizi Mhlongo and Khanyi Mbau. Getting that gig was a beautiful surprise. I had put my career on hold following the death of my son, Dunamis. He passed away 28 days after being born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome – the left side of his heart was severely underdeveloped. I’d only held him for a mere two seconds after he was born before he was whisked away to intensive care. After much heartache and a R1,5 million medical bill, my little boy passed away. My family was by my side throughout. The love of my life, Sizwe Mzolo, was right there with me; we grew closer.
To some, I appear as a newbie in the industry, but I’ve been at it since 1996. My career spans 18 years. It started with the maskandi group my brothers Nkosinathi and Jabu, and sister Vuyisiwe and I started, called Amaponi. As we grew older, we all ventured into different things, including law, engineering and design. I pursued a career as a TV presenter. My parents, Ihashe Elimhlope and Ebony, were always on tour, performing. We got inspired by them and wanted that life too. Amaponi actually released five albums and toured the world.
Fame doesn’t faze me. It’s the only thing I know. We made a lot of money from Amaponi and gained independence from an early age. My parents insisted we split the bills and grocery money. I paid for my own school fees and everything I owned. I’m happy with the pace my career has taken over the years; it’s been steady. We were always protected and called to order whenever the fame got to our heads. We couldn’t go to after parties or hang out with the other artists after gigs. I hated that as a child but now that I’m older, I’m grateful for it because it kept us grounded. I have a better understanding of the entertainment industry – it’s about the work, which, when done well, leads to longevity. I studied business management and marketing at Damelin after matric. I also worked on a few TV productions including SABC1’s Jika MaJika. Growing up as a child star to famous parents comes with its own pressures. My dad is still active in the industry, so everything we do as his children is attached to our surname. As a result I’m calculating in everything I do too; I steer clear of bad publicity because whenever something is written about me, it’s always mentioned that I’m Ebony and Ihashe Elimhlophe’s daughter. That being the case, it doesn’t mean I’m not myself either or live in a cage because of my surname. Their success pushes me to work harder and realise that I haven’t reached their level of accomplishments drives me even further.
Bad criticism towards my career right now doesn’t affect me, it’s only hurtful when you aren’t confident in yourself. It’s up to you to decide if you want to be happy. I realised this, particularly after my son died. That’s why I’m grateful for my husband, he is the best person I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. Marriage has been both a challenge and blessing. He works as my manager and doesn’t mind my celebrity status; he’s known entertainment is the direction I’ve wanted to take. I realise we’re following in our parents’ footsteps by working together, and that’s okay and I am living proof that it can benefit our relationship. He understands that
I have male fans and he’s fine with that; he gives me space to be me.
As much as I love Mzolo, two months into our marriage I wanted out. It’s true what they say that you only really know someone once you live with them. With marriage, you realise that you suddenly have to build a life with someone who is raised differently and has their own values. When you’re dating and have an argument, for example, it’s easy to leave and only iron things out later. With marriage, it’s the complete opposite. Mzolo would suddenly want space and say he needed two hours by himself after arguments. I wasn’t having that and didn’t understand it. I come from a large family, and if you fought with someone, there was always someone to talk to afterwards. The emotions of being a wife overwhelmed me. I reached the point where I actually sat my parents down to discuss having a divorce. They weren’t having any of that obviously. My mom advised that if I was able to fight with my own family, what did I expect from a boyfriend/ husband that you’ve only met in their adulthood? So we’ve worked things out and we are happily in love. Of course, we still argue but now we work things out and understand each other more. We give each other space.
Despite losing my son, I do want more children. My daughter, Nomvelo, definitely wants a younger sibling. She handled Dumanis’ passing well and understood that for a little while our attention needed to be on his health. I love being a mom because of that unmatched love a mother shares with their child. Nomvelo has taught me to love unconditionally and to be more grateful. She’s appreciative of everything I do for her. Moving forward, I want to write a book about my ordeal with Dumanis. I feel that more people need to be made aware of his illness, and how to deal with the pain. His death has emphasised that life goes on, and you have to grab onto whatever feels right.It also teaches you to value your family’s presence. Right now, radio feels right for me, so I’m going to be on the airwaves for a while. I’m also working on my sec ond album; I’ve already released a song, Woza December featuring NVM. In February I’ll be releasing another song and every three months after that until the album drops later this year.”