Tumisho Masha ties the knot
It was all kept very hush-hush, but actor Tumisho Masha is off the market after tying the knot with gorgeous Chantal
HE’S one of South Africa’s most recognisable stars yet his wedding had none of the razzmatazz usually associated with celeb nuptials. There were no fans clamouring to get a glimpse of the bride and groom, no Instagram worthy selfies and no wedding hashtags on social media.
In fact, few people outside Tumisho Masha and Chantal Wagner’s tight-knit inner circle knew anything about it at all. After four years of dating, the actor wed his sweetheart in a low-key gift-giving ceremony at a romantic wedding venue on the slopes of the Magaliesberg mountains.
A gift-giving ceremony is held after the completion of lobolo negotiations and the day was a celebration of Tumisho’s Pedi culture and the coming together of his and Chantal’s families.
It was a traditional wedding with all the trimmings and the Masha clan brought gifts to exchange with the Wagners. There were luxurious blankets, sturdy pots and warm winter coats but the day was about a lot more than swopping presents.
In the presence of preacher Innocent Sadiki, who’s also an actress in soapie Skeem Saam, and their loved ones, Tumisho ( 45) and Chantal ( 37) exchanged their wedding vows.
The former Top Billing presenter, who’s starred in numerous shows, including The Wild and Isidingo, looked dapper in a bold blue suit. The bride was svelte and sophisticated in a strapless pink sweetheart gown, the flower embellishment on her shoulder a match of the design on her groom’s lapel, which is a nod to Pedi culture.
“It was an amazing day, one of the best days of my life,” Tumisho tells YOU.
The pandemic put paid to their plans of having a big wedding but in the end they still married in style. Their 30 guests feasted on roast lamb and grilled salmon, tucked into crème brûlée and Pavlova for dessert and sipped on a steady supply of bubbly and gin.
Tumisho wanted to tie the knot under the radar, far from the prying eyes of the public. “We didn’t want any bad vibes,” he says. “I don’t think everyone is happy for us – as a man it’s my duty to protect Chantal from the public and those who don’t wish us well.”
BY JOY MPHANDE
FROM the start Tumisho knew she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. The couple met in 2017 after he reached out to Chantal, who works for the Limpopo legislature, on social media.
They grabbed drinks for their first date and conversation flowed as they discovered just how much they had in common. “What I really liked about her was how much she valued family,” Tumisho says.
“She was always looking for ways to add value to people’s lives.”
The couple wanted to wait at least three months before introducing each other to their parents but fate had other plans. On their way to a date at Fourways
Farmer’s Market in Rustenburg, North West province, Tumisho had to call his parents to help them with a flat tyre.
It was a seamless meeting, he says. His folks, Rodney (73) and Maureen (65), took an instant liking to Chantal.
Her parents, Bernie and Claude Wagner (both 64), hit it off with Tumisho too and they were happy to give their blessing when he asked for her hand in marriage.
Both moms and dads booked into the four-star Red Ivory game reserve near Hartbeespoort for the weekend so the newlyweds could enjoy their first breakfast as husband and wife with their folks.
Family is important to the actor. “When someone gets married, they also marry their family,” he says. “I’m more
than happy to marry Chantal’s family. They’re the most amazing people.”
He waited six months before introducing Chantal to his daughter, Zinathi (5), because he wanted to make sure their relationship was the real deal. Zinathi’s mom is Zozibini Mtongana ( 36), Tumisho’s second wife.
At first, he worried his little princess wouldn’t like his new love, but Zinathi and Chantal got on like a house on fire when they met at Zinathi’s second birthday party. “I was quite sure of my feelings for her when I introduced her to my daughter,” Tumisho says.
“I knew she was the one because of the way she wholeheartedly loves my child.” The pair love baking together and have grown so close Zinathi referred to Chantal as her second mom during an impromptu speech she gave at their wedding.
Chantal’s relationship with his daughter is just one of the many things Tumisho loves about her. No matter what she’s going through she always shows up with a big smile on her face, he says.
TUMISHO has been through challenges in the past. His first marriage to businesswoman Angel ended in 2008 and she passed away in 2017 after apparently dying in her sleep. Then Tumisho met Zozibini, who now works as a deal originator for a large bank, and the pair tied the knot in 2010. For a while they were a golden couple, looking loved up on the red carpet – but the marriage ended in disaster when Tumisho was arrested for assault.
The case exposed details of a tumultuous marriage and the matter dragged on, with Zozibini dropping and reinstating the charges until Tumisho was finally acquitted in 2018.
By then, he and Chantal were already an item and she was at every court appearance. “She showed up and offered her support, even though it was hard having to sit there and listen to me admit to breaking my ex’s phone,” he says.
Knowing he could end up behind bars was like something out of a horror movie, he says. “There were accusations and allegations made about me and I lost my reputation and ability to work.”
When the magistrate found him not guilty, Tumisho started the legal process of separating from Zozibini. He sees his daughter every second weekend.
He hopes he’s found his happily ever after. “You can’t go into a marriage trying to protect your heart,” he says. “I’ve learnt marriage is about being vulnerable.”
Tumisho and Chantal divide their time between Pretoria and Polokwane, where she works, but she plans to relocate to Gauteng to be with him.
Things seem to be looking up on the work front too. Having had a role in the recently released Netflix series Dead Places, his next project is a horror film and he wants to try his hand at producing.
His life has changed since he met Chantal. “When my parents accepted her into our family, they named her Naledi, which means ‘light’,” Tumisho says.
“They said she came at a time when it was very dark. She brought light to the family.”
‘I KNEW SHE WAS THE ONE BECAUSE OF THE WAY SHE WHOLEHEARTEDLY LOVES MY DAUGHTER’