Skeem Saam actor Pebetsi Matlaila found love and marriage during the Covid-19 pandemic – and it all started with her now husband “throwing a brick”.
Renowned for playing the role of Mokgadi in the SABC1 soapie, Matlaila hooked up with director Lloyd Mbatha back in January.
They had been friends for four years and Mbatha had courted Matlaila, but the only problem was she was in a relationship.
“So I was with someone for years while we were friends. So he ‘threw a brick’ [slang term used when someone 'steals' another person's girlfriend/boyfriend] and got me at the beginning of the year,” Matlaila said.
“The funny thing is when we hooked up I thought it was just one of those relationships that are part-time. So I wasn’t sacrificing a lot and even putting on a front as this “It girl” that was slaying all the time. He’s my friend.
“I had honestly given up on love and just this year altogether. I even went on social media to say whatever you have planned let it go, the aim is to come out alive.
“In my mind I was never going to get married and have another child. He had been telling me over the four years we’ve known each other that he’s going to marry me.”
Matlaila and Mbatha had their traditional wedding at the beginning of the month.
“He had been in talks with my mother and uncle without my knowledge. I was surprised at how close he was with my mom,” Matlaila said.
“I thought my mom liked him because he’s the first Christian that I have dated. He is a religious man and that for me just ticked the box – that goes a long way.”
Matlaila is not planning on having a Western white wedding. But she will have a bigger traditional wedding ceremony where all her friends and relatives can attend.
“It hasn’t settled in yet, because the person I married is my friend. He is the one that has to remind me sometimes,” Matlaila said.
“The only thing I do different now is I was strictly told by the elders that a man should never go to bed hungry. So I’ve been doing a lot of cooking more than I’m used to.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.