Have you ever looked at a couple and thought to yourself, "They look perfect together" until you find out that the relationship is heading for splitsville.
Fans of radio personality Masechaba Ndlovu were shocked to find out that her picture-perfect relationship to her second husband Vusi had abruptly ended.
Ndlovu joins a long list of celebrities who revealed their new relationship status as single in recent years.
Not long ago, radio personality and Idols SA judge Unathi Nkayi divorced her equally famous DJ husband Thomas Msengana, who she had married in 2009. Celebs Melanie and Zwai Bala also ended their 10-year-old marriage.
Speaking on Cliff- central in April, Melanie said: “We were together for 17 years and who you are when you meet at 20-something is a lot different from who you are when you are 40-something. You grow. You change. You evolve.”
Popular sports anchor Robert Marawa and TV star Pearl Thusie are among the recent growing list of splitsville couples, after breaking off their engagement.
Ironically, rapper and Idols SA presenter Tebogo “Proverb” Thekisho broke the silence over reasons for divorcing his wife of 10 years Onalerona on Ndlovu’s radio show. He accused his wife of cheating on him.
The queen of glam Bonang Matheba’s break-up with rap superstar AKA is still a story on Twitter.
The topic of their relationship often comes up on social media.
The two broke it off this year after AKA announced that they had parted ways, which resulted in a song featured in his latest album.
Add Babes Wodumo and Mampintsha, and Pearl Modiade, and the list of splits becomes scary.
NeuroCoach and owner of KimCoach NeuroCoaching academy, Kim Ikel, weighed in on celebrity relationships and told The Star that theirs was no different from any other couple’s challenges.
“It may seem different because their ecology and context may differ. However, it is important to understand that any human being, regardless of position, has fears, limiting beliefs and unprocessed negative emotions. We bring this to our world and relationships, and if not confronted and transformed, these will inform our results,” said Ikel.
On Wednesday night, in a social media post, Ndlovu said she had to make a painful decision to separate from her partner.
Screenshot: Instagram
“I’ve taken the very painful decision of separating from my husband, the love of my life, the man of my dreams. My ride or die. Sometimes in life, the best thing you can do is the hardest thing you’ve ever done,” she wrote.
Ndlovu added that they would always remain friends and fantastic parents to their children - and would always love and care for each other.
She further explained that her decision to walk away from her marriage was because among other things she was not happy.
“Often, people keep up pretences because of the fear to be seen as failures or to lose credibility. We forget that the best gift you can give to the world and yourself is your happiness. Your truth. Social media shouldn’t only be about flaunting the good times. Let’s engage and grow each other even in the difficult times. Life is a journey and not a destination,” she wrote.
Ndlovu’s management team said they had no comment on the matter.
Reactions to Ndlovu’s break-up trickled in on her social media pages, especially from kwaito star Mampintsha, whose real name is Mandla Maphumulo.
In May, during an interview with Babes Wodumo on The Drive, Masechaba claimed Babes was being abused by her partner, Mampintsha, who denied it.
The Big Nuz band group member reminded the Metro FM presenter of the accusations she made in May. “Yabonake, amarelationship anjani sis wamLike I said to you before, relationships are very tricky, kodwa ke (but) sizokuthandazela, (loosely translated, we will pray for you.)
"We pray even for those who don’t like us,” tweeted Mampintsha.
Ndlovu’s separation came with mixed reaction from Twitter followers. @Sukoluhle Nyathi tweeted: “Just read about Masechaba Ndlovu’s decision to separate from her husband. As painful as this may be, she had a powerful and profound message in her post about self love.”
Just read about Masechaba Ndlovu's decision to separate from her husband.
As painful as this may be she had such powerful and profound message in her post about self love.
— Sukoluhle Nyathi (@SueNyathi) July 12, 2018
@LudidiVelani tweeted: “Does Masechaba Ndlovu owe the public an explanation for why she and her husband are separating after the way she handled the Babes Wodumo interview?”
Does Masechaba Ndlovu owe the public an explanation on why she and her husband are separating after the way she handled the Babes Wodumo interview? 👀
— Veve (@LudidiVelani) July 12, 2018
According to Ikel, the disappointment of a celebrity relationship from outside is common and interpreted without full understanding.
“We choose to read and relate to that without always understanding that there's a context around that which we see at face value. Disappointment will surface if we see only the spotlight and not the full stage.
"Every relationship has all the sides, and should we only choose to see the one side, then it is a universal law that when another side surfaces, we may feel surprised or disappointed,” said Ikel.