All that glitters…
Doctor Dhlomo shows Sne his true colours moments before they say their “I do’s”. Is it too late to change her mind?
Doctor Dhlomo (Nyaniso Dzedze) finally made his intentions clear and proposed to Sne (Nombulelo Mhlongo) on the day of her baby shower and Sne’s dreams are coming together. “Sne has always wanted to get married and this has turned out to be her dream come true,” says Nombulelo.
The recent Ebola scare at the hospital had Dr Dhlomo realising just how precious life is, and he no longer wants to wait to marry Sne, he wants her to be Mrs Dhlomo as soon as it can be done and the budget is unlimited. But that means Sne has to plan her fairytale wedding in just one week.
Being the queen that she is, is no surprise that Sne pulls it off. A Rolls Royce car is rented for the bride and groom to make their grand entrance, but Sne wants her husband to see her for the first time as she walks down the aisle and not when they arrive at the venue together already dressed. So instead of waiting for him, Sne abandons her husband-to-be and that gives him anxiety.
A WEDDING GIFT FOR THE BRIDE
Dr Dhlomo is frantic with worry searching for his bride, and when he goes to the venue and finds her there, he does the unthinkable – he slaps her across the face. “Sne is shocked. She’s hurt, angry and in complete disbelief at who she has decided to commit herself to,” explains Nombulelo, whose character is reeling from the assault. Sne doesn’t even get the chance to explain to Dhlomo why she abandoned their plan to arrive together. And worse yet, her mother witnesses the attack. “Sne feels that she shouldn’t continue with the wedding but her mother tells her that she mustn’t dare embarrass them like that,” explains the actress. “Sne’s mother actually goes so far as to questions Sne’s actions that led to the usually cool and calm Dhlomo doing what he did. Why did she change what they had planned without informing the groom?” Not that it’s any excuse for his actions, adds Nombulelo.
Sne has no choice but to suck it up, fake that smile and walk down that aisle with her cheeks still stinging from that hot slapped she was just served by the man on the other end of the altar. Dzedze meanwhile hints that this is just the start of the surprises. “Dhlomo is going to pull a lot of tricks out of the bag. His true character will be revealed.”
A SMIRKING ABUSER
Dzedze says that while “Dhlomo’s character has some aspects of abusiveness that he has to address, he does love Sne, and he tries his best to be the man that Sne needs even though he gets it wrong at times”. Sne has dealt with every type of man but never an abuser. She has to find a way to make their marriage work, and Nombulelo says that Sne soon realises that she’s married an abuser.
“Sne will continue to be vocal and even though Dhlomo will bully her occasionally, she will never stop expressing herself. Sne is a believer of fairytales but she accepts responsibility for her decisions,” adds the actress. This isn’t the way Sne ever imagined starting her marriage life. She wanted the entire newly-wed lovey-dovey feeling, but instead she’ll have to tip-toe and fight for her voice to be heard in her marriage.
The slap and everything-is-okay-andhappy-facade during the ceremony is just the start. During the reception, Dr Dhlomo shocks everyone – including his new wife – by announcing that they’ll be moving to Joburg Gen. “This is totally unexpected. Sne had no idea but she has to act like she knew all along,” says Dzedze. “It’s unlikely that the hospital staff will find out [about the abuse], although both Dhlomo and Sne know what he did is wrong, Sne does protect him,” adds the actor.
Nombulelo explains that her charac
ter “is going to have a lot of downs in the marriage, but there will also be ups and things may not necessarily turn out for the worse”. Dzedze adds that it was an important storyline “because this toxic relationship, sexual assaults and gender-based violence is something that so many people in the country can relate to”. How exactly this marriage is going to play out remains to be seen…