With Big Brother Mzansi finally over and Ace and Ntombi taking the money, a pair that gave them a run for their money has to be Mbali and Chelsea. They met on the show, clicked like sisters and were a force to be reckoned with.
Most of the evictees predicted that Mbali and Chelsea would walk away with the R2 million prize. We caught up with the dynamic duo to find out what went wrong.
Did you think you would get this far, only to fall right at the end?
Mbali: I didn’t want to get evicted first because I needed people to know me a little bit more. I was okay with being in there for a few months, but when we got in there and Chelsea and I started to progress each week, we thought that we stood a good chance.
Chelsea: You don’t want to be the first person to leave because, let’s face it, the main reason that we all do this is so that we get some exposure. For me, it would have set my life for the next few years had we won the money. Although we didn’t win, I was happy we made it to the end.
What would you say were your main achievements in the house?
We are proud of our ourselves because we kept missing eviction every weekend. At one time we survived about four weeks in a row. We lived with packed suitcases.
What were some of the misconceptions that you had before going into the competition?
Mbali: I thought it’s just a house and we were going to be on a holiday, but I was wrong.
Many people go in there with their strategies and it took me a while to catch on. They would smile at me and then, when it came to diary time, I discovered they were actually throwing us under the bus.
Chelsea: You go through so many emotional roller-coasters, like not knowing how everyone is at home or what time it is. We discovered when we got out that we had most of our dinners at midnight.
Also, you see the drama on other seasons and think you are going to enjoy being a contestant, but it’s hard work.
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Some came as pairs, but you met on the show. How did you get along?
Chelsea: We were the last two and I was wondering why no one was picking Mbali. But when we met I was glad it was her because we worked so well together from the first moment.
Mbali: I think for me, the problem was that there were people there who had known each other for years, yet we had just met.
We were at an obvious disadvantage, but you would be surprised at how much we have in common. Over time we even discovered that we had a number of mutual friends.
What did you hope to do with the money if you had won it?
Chelsea: I am a big fan of giving to charity so I was hoping to give some away. Then I wanted to give some to my family and take care of some issues that need financing at home. I would also take my family on holiday.
Mbali: I wanted to sort out my mom and sister cash-wise to get whatever they wanted. Also, I resigned from my job so the money could have kept me afloat as I chase my passion in the entertainment industry.