Sunday, 15 February 2023, marks the roaring arrival of BBTitans.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW.

The highly anticipated social experiment brings under Biggie’s roof housemates from both South Africa and Nigeria. And for 72 days, we will be splashed with the finest in South African and Nigerian swag, banter, romance and all the trappings of a fun-filled, dramatic and – we’d hope – an entertaining show.

A first of its kind, the social experiment assembles the most colourful personalities from the two nations to outwit, outplay and outsmart each other in a bid to get their hands on a massive bag, life-changing bag!

In addition to a number of lofty prizes that will likely be on the line throughout the season, the winner of the show will also be walking away, a whopping grand prize of US $100 000 (over R1,7 million) is up for grabs for the one who trounces his Housemates to charm audiences across the continent.

That’s not all; the amount of social capital, celebrity and opportunities for lucrative brand deals after the show, all form part of the career-launching lift-off that comes with being on the popular franchise.

Both Big Brother Mzansi host Lawrence Maleka and Big Brother Naija’s Ebuka Obi-Uchendu will co-host this debut season.

Fans of Big Brother Mzansi and Big Brother Naija in the diaspora are not left out as Showmax will stream the show in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and about 50 other countries.

Drinks to the right, and cry angles to the left. The girlies of Gqeberha are coming to splash glimpses of their fabulous lives on the Real Housewives of Gqeberha!

The reality series, which was first announced by M-Net on 5 January 2023, will be premiering on 1Magic on Friday, 3 February at 8:30 PM. And, if the six other African Real Housewives titles are anything to go by, audiences can expect displays of opulence among the coastal city’s flashiest echelons.

Along with the official poster, which features the cast clad in golden gowns with traditional Xhosa finishes, we’ve now been given further detail on the women on the cast.

NORMA NICOL

IG: @norma_nic0l

Career-focused and fierce, when Norma isn’t running things as an events planner at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, she’s a dedicated wife and mom. Married into Ghanaian royalty, Norma is the real deal when it comes to glitz and glam. She stylishly juggles many roles without breaking a nail – but will anyone dare come for her throne? 

BULI G NGOMANE

IG: @buli.g 

In-demand MC, high-end events planner, brand ambassador, former Idols SA contestant, award-winning businesswoman, and now, ‘Real Housewife’: to say that the charismatic Buli G’s CV is impressive would be an understatement. A highly connected social butterfly known for bringing the light into any room she enters – will her light be too bright for some in the cast? 

LIZ

IG: @thelizprins

A dedicated mom and socialite who loves jogging, Liz is a straight shooter. But beneath that bubbly exterior is a woman who is softer than she seems. Still recovering from the loss of her beloved husband, the construction project manager who sold her company for eight figures is navigating life as a widow. Her heart might be in the right place, but will her words land her in hot water with the group? 

UNATHI FAKU

IG: @una.faku

Self-proclaimed Gqeberha royalty, Unathi is no shrinking violet. As a successful salon owner and the wife of the city’s former mayor, she is comfortable in the public eye and having her every move watched. A gym lover whose social media pages are peppered with fitness snaps, she’s also a dedicated and doting mother. Will she be able to let her guard down with the other ladies? 

ASHLEIGH MATHER

IG: @ mrs2_mather

The sweetheart of the group, fresh-faced Ashleigh is a wife and mom who works in the fabulously fast-paced fashion industry. But don’t be fooled: while she might be unassuming, she’s no pushover. With her family owning two of the biggest clubs in the city, she certainly has a wild side that might catch her castmates by surprise. How will they react when she lets her hair down? 

On the first two episodes of her reality show, Unexpected, DJ Zinhle appears ready to own her narrative. Up until just weeks ahead of the show’s premiere on BET, the media personality had kept her pregnancy private.

With the amount of public interest that attends to her life, it’s a wonder she was able to keep the news from even those closest to her. As we are now learning through this show, DJ Zinhle, real name name Zinhle Jiyane, keeps a strong network of close friends and her tight knit family. Yet not even they were granted access into the privileged news of her second journey to motherhood. At least not until much later!

“I didn’t want to deal with the media”, she explains to her celebrity pal Nomuzi Mabena on the first episode, which marks the start of her journey to breaking the news to everyone. Until now, her boyfriend, Black Motion member Bongani Mohosane is the only one she’s told.  And even that is somewhat of a mystery to Zinhle.

She’d later bring her best-friend Pearl Thusi to tears when breaking the news. Jiyane reveals she’s battled some anxiety over not knowing how the announcement would be received, both by her family and the public. She’s learned by now that the constant chatter around her life on social media can get intense, with fans and detractors yelling at each other for days on end.

It all worked out perfectly in the end, however, as she twinned the announcement of her pregnancy with the scoop on the reality show. It’s a double treat for her fans, who now get to come along as Zinhle journeys to the next chapter of her life on the show, which gives viewers a glimpse into her busy life as a mom of one Kairo, a life on the on the road as one of the country’s most sought after DJ’s, and the fashion empire she’s building.

Far from the badass CEO with a lasting streak in the entertainment business, Unexpected reveals a layer to a woman wearing many hats. Although she’s constantly the talk of the town, whether or not she’s actually the main character of the headlines, the show takes us beyond a celebrity in the spotlight to introduce us to Zinhle, the woman, the mom, the sister, the friend.

Unexpected does not gloss over the rough edges either. From the start, Zinhle allows us to see her without makeup. When home, she’s just as goofy as us mere mortals. She reveals that she needed to find a way to honour AKA’s name even as she allows fans further than they’ve ever gotten before.

Although their names are often splashed alongside each other in the media and in impassioned fan wars on social media, she’s careful not to cultivate an environment that would paddle negative headlines about the father of her child.

Unexpected marks somewhat a departure from the stale format of South African celebrity shows, which have mostly concealed the real stuff behind a sparkly sheen meant to sustain a false display of perfection. There’s a boldness here, as Zinhle really seems ready to just approach her entrance into the world of reality shows with an honest vulnerability. She was either going to do this properly, or continue keeping the most intimate details of her personal life private.

She’s chosen to invite us, and do so without banging out a pretty farce. And so what could have been back to back ad placements for her products, the dishing out of curated moments with her boyfriend Bongani Mohosana to show us they are oh-so-in-love, has been traded for real moments.

Instead, she allows the parallels of announcing her pregnancy and revealing who she is behind the scenes to shine through. DJ Zinhle and Bongani have now welcomed baby Asante Mohosane.

Though it must be said, her sister Gugulethu not noticing Zinhle’s very visible baby bump when she arrived at her house, until Zinhle announces it, felt a bit staged. She might have only found out on the the day of the taping, but the ‘Ooh!’ was totally saved for the camera. It was like, stop it.

Otherwise, we are watching. Unexpected airs on BET, DStv channel 129 on Saturdays at 19:30.

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