Power Couple, is a wonderful mix of drama, romance, tension and physical challenges. Tonight spoke |to three standout couples. Debashine Thangevelo reports
THE ARCH-RIVALS
NEWLYWEDS PJ and Marzanne Kleinhans were the first of the contestants to arrive at the villa for M-Net’s latest reality show Power Couple.
A seriously good-looking couple, they had only been married a month but have been together for five years.
This endearing Cape Town couple, has a competitive disposition. Both 29, they also say they have a couple of quirks and things they are working on. PJ can’t help but chuckle when he recalls the argument that ensued when Marzanne suggested they enter the show.
He laughs. “She wanted to go for it after we had gotten our wedding tattoos. We had a big fight because I didn’t want to. Then when she said she didn’t want to go, I insisted that we do it.”
And so they went for it. While they did so with no expectations, they ended up impressing.
PJ is not a big talker and admits to having difficulty conversing in English as he is more comfortable in his mother tongue. “I usually wear my heart on my sleeve, while Marzanne overthinks everything. My biggest problem is communication… We’re still working on it. We are also both very competitive and hate losing.”
Don’t be fooled by the fact that Marzanne is a good looking blonde. She is one sharp woman. And she isn’t afraid to share her opinion. In fact, viewers often get to see Ivan (who is married to Roshila) and her engage in healthy debates.
She says, “Ivan is a sweetheart. He questions things a lot and that raises eyebrows. I like a good challenge. I used to be a life-orientation teacher and one of the biggest things I used to always preach is that you cannot have an opinion with no fact to base it on.”
What’s their goal?
Marzanne reveals, “We decided to go for the money and adventure. I know he is a toughie and he knows his wife is a toughie.”
THE SWEETHEARTS
YOU CAN’T help but fall in love with Emile and Razia Samson. The couple met 16 years ago and complement one another beautifully, melting hearts with their unconditional love and support.
They have been married for nine years and have three beautiful daughters – although looking at Razia’s gorgeous figure and youthful looks, you’d never believe it.
Recalling how they met, Razia, 34, says, “I’m from East London and Emile is from Cape Town. After matriculating, I lived here in Jozi. At the end of my first year, I went for a holiday in Cape Town and I met him at a house party the first night I got there. We have been together ever since…”
Emile, 35, adds, “From the moment I met her, I didn’t want to let her out of my sight.”
Razia laughs, “At the time we were snail-mailing each other and I had to call him on his landline as he didn’t have a cellphone.”
On their reasons for entering Power Couple, Emile says, “The money was our second priority. Our main thing was to have some alone time. And a Villa in Camps Bay was the perfect vacation. When you have three kids, it’s not easy to get that.”
And the two get off to a spectacular start in the competition with Emile putting his money where his heart is. He bet R40 000 on Razia completing the first challenge.
That was a big leap of faith given Razia’s fears but his faith in her was not misplaced.
She says, “Look, there were many things that scared the shit out of me. I had to face many fears. There were many occasions where Ryan O’Connor said: ‘You don’t have to do this, you can opt out’. And I was close to saying, ‘Emile, I can’t.’
“But I pushed myself, especially on that claw challenge.”
Emile says, “I was overcome with emotion when she finished that mud challenge. I realised we had met with amazing success… At the same time, I also felt like the group was being severed.”
THE BIG PERSONALITIES
THE larger-than-life personalities of Mo and Phindi Grootboom are infectious. They are boisterous, funny and incorrigibly playful.
Both are 38 years old and media executives – at one point Mo was the Head of Arts and Culture in KwaZulu-Natal… a post he held for nine years, so being in the spotlight is not new to either of them.
Mo offers, “I have 16 years’ creative experience in the industry. I have worked with celebs and so forth. The last thing on my mind was to be on TV. I remember, I kept dismissing the idea.”
Phindi chips in, “He kept on saying, have you seen the lines for Idols. Honestly, if we have to be standing in line, I don’t want people to recognise me.”
But Phindi got her way.
What’s funny is that despite them being married for 10 years, she complains about him not being romantic enough. “He never buys roses or does romantic things like that,” she says.
But as viewers will see, he is teddy bear – and an affectionate one despite the absence of big gestures.
Both proudly announce, “We are reality TV junkies.”
He says, “OMG, we never miss an episode of The Bachelorette. We also love Preachers of LA, Dineo’s Diary, MasterChef SA. We also went to see Chris Forrest, who I know well, when he had his show in Grahamstown.”
She adds, “I also got into Keeping up with the Kardashians.”
Mo and Phindi were the second last couple to arrive at the house.
Asked for their first impressions of the place they gush, “Firstly, it was one of the poshest places in Camps Bay. Behind us was this huge mountain. In front, this beautiful sea. That was really, really great.”
As for the drawback, Mo notes, “That would be the competing. You make friends, but you are not ‘friends’. That’s the worst.”
She adds, “The show is a mixture of Survivor, as you don’t know who to trust, and The Amazing Race with the challenges. What I liked about the challenges is that they are not designed for specific people. In that regard, it was fair to everyone.”
With his fear of heights, Mo didn’t enjoy the height challenges. But he soldiered on like a trooper during the reality show.
l Power Couple debuts on M-Net (DStv channel 101) next Thursday at 7.30pm.