Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Inside the ‘Real Housewives of Durban’ season 2 launch party
THERE was a collective murmur when Thobile MaKhumalo Mseleku walked into the Pearl Room at the Oyster Box Hotel.
Heads turned and all followed the one object of desire – the Mach & Mach Double Bow pumps she is wearing. Perfectly matching her shocking pink lips, they are adorned with an eye-catching bow appliqué at the toe that's covered in diamanté.
The ladies nod their approval, and soon there is frantic searching about the price and brand of the shoe.
Well, that is one way to announce your entrance as the new cast member of Real Housewives of Durban.
Wearing a sparkling silver midilength dress, her hair slicked back and carrying a diamanté festooned clutch, I could tell that she was feeling herself. That she was the moment and wanted everyone in the room to know.
Of course, it being the launch party of the second season of the hit reality show, expectations were high that the cast members were going to hit fashion sixes. It's something we have come to expect from the Housewives – total glam. And they understood the assignment. Well, mostly.
As they huddled together, taking group pictures, their outfits clashed, such that it felt like they were at different events.
But that is the nature of Real Housewives – women from different walks of life, backgrounds and personal style, shooting a TV show for three months and allowing the world into a part of their life they are comfortable to reveal.
The Oyster Box was the ideal venue to launch the new season. It is one of the most luxurious hotels in the country and is a favourite of many of the cast members. You could tell that they felt at home. After all, cast members of Real Housewives and luxury are in the same WhatsApp group.
The first episode of the second season of Real Housewives of Durban had aired a few hours ago and there was a lot of unspoken, but knowing glances between the cast, as if they are promising to handle their comments about each other when they are away from the public and in the safety of their home, where the producers ask them the tough questions.
The second season will follow the
original cast- Sorisha Naidoo, Annie Ludick-Mthembu, Nonku Williams, Nonkanyiso Conco and Mabusi Seme. Joining the cast this season are Londie London, Jojo Robinson and MaKhumalo-Mseleku.
At the launch, the cast members spoke candidly about being on the show, how it was good for their personal brands and businesses.
Ludick-Mthembu spoke about how being on the show made sense for her brand and also for her husband, Durban night club king, Kgolo daGuru. MaKhumalo-Mseleku, who joined the show later than the other cast members, said she joined so she can have autonomy, and show her life away from her Uthando neSthembu sister wives and their polygamous husband.
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Fellow newcomers Jojo Robinson and Londie London said they joined the show because they thought it would be a great opportunity to give people a sneak peek into their lives and for the misconceptions about them to end.
We asked if any of them felt like they needed to up their image for the second season. Only Seme was brave enough to answer.
“Oh, I got everything I could to improve my image. I had some procedures, got a stylist, a manager, and so much more. I realised I needed to up my game this season,” she said.
Most people were really interested to hear what Conco, otherwise known as LaConco (or LaC as Sorisha Naidoo calls her), had to say about her experience on the show and trying to keep her high profile relationship with former president Jacob Zuma under wraps.
There were many emotional moments, and it appears the second season of the show will see her reveal more about her life post the relationship with Zuma.
Naidoo revealed that her husband, billionaire businessman Vivian Reddy, will also make an appearance on the show this season, as will the other husbands, which titillated the audience.
Another hot topic was the late arrival of the controversial cast member, Nonku Williams, who arrived nearly three hours later than everyone else.
It was rather telling that during the screening of the show’s individual trailers, there wasn’t much excitement towards her. Clearly, something is afoot in the world of housewives, and we will get to see it all play out.
The streams on Showmax with episodes dropping every Friday.