Happy “Her Majesty” Simelane says, from her side, there is no bad blood between her and Ratile Mabitsela after their feud on The Mommy Club resulted in a friendship fallout.
Simelane continues to heat the third season of the popular reality show on Showmax, while Mabitsela is navigating life without cameras after she exited the show this season.
Tragedy hit Mabitsela over a week ago after her estranged businessman husband Lehlogonolo died.
“I love helping people. I’m not a gatekeeper, I have a big heart. That’s why sometimes I wish I had a strong relationship with Ratile. I wanted to help her grow in this space. I’ve been shooting reality TV way longer and I aimed to show her the ropes – it’s unfortunate that we fell off,” she said.
“As much as Ratile chose the wrong side and made a mockery of me on national TV when my husband passed away, I still didn’t hate her. Today, she’s going through the same thing and I know and feel her pain.
“I have sent her condolences live during an interview I did on the radio earlier in the week and I hope she finds comfort during this time.”
Simelane said at the heart of the show remained the spirit of sisterhood.
– The Mommy Club: Van die Hoofstad starring five mothers from Tshwane’s Afrikaans community will debut on March 14.
– Louise Volschenk, Tessa Tullues, Johandri Johnson, Crystal van der Burgh and Ansu Viljoen will headline it.
– This is the third spin-off in the local franchise after Johannesburg and Durban.
— Fact Box – The Mommy Club
“Meeting the new cast of women was so refreshing and it’s beautiful to see friendships being formed – [the most important thing] for me was to help these new mommies in the reality TV space. I made a lot of mistakes when I first started, so I’d like to help them avoid such errors.
“I give them support and pointers here and there and tell them how to go about something. I’m that friend I wish I had when I got into this industry.”
Last year, Simelane drew criticism after a video of her grinding on a man at a nightclub went viral on social media. Her daughter Tiisetso was in the video. According to Simelane, they were shooting a music video for Makhadzi's song Mapara.
“I believe I’m doing the best that I can in being a great mother for my kids. When we shot the show last year, my relationship with my daughter Tiisetso was rocky. We are good now,” she said.
“People will always judge you in how you raise your kids but I know I’m raising strong-willed girls. I am strict, I even put my two eldest daughters in boarding school because of my demanding work schedule, I knew I wasn’t going to be home as much as possible so that structure would help them.
“I want them to excel. I want them to be independent young ladies and if any of them wants to be in the entertainment industry, I won’t force them to go to school and get a degree if that’s not what they want to do. I want them to follow their passion, who knows, maybe I’m raising an Uncle Waffles. Tiisetso is already learning how to DJ and will start gigging.”
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