If viewers thought the fashionable late arrival of Thobile “MaKhumalo” Mseleku and her famous polygamist husband, Musa, was the only upset at the black-tie affair, episode four of “The Real Housewives of Durban” proved that it was merely the first course to the drama that was about to unfold.
Of course, Thobile and Musa lived, breathed and walked the power couple narrative as they sauntered into the private dining room at The Beverly Hills.
But their lifestyle got a few of the guests hot under the collar when Musa tried to “convert” some of the husbands. He intimated that being with the same woman for breakfast, lunch and dinner was boring.
Although Musa was quite tickled by his recruitment game, his only supporter in the room was Thobile.
Variety may be the spice of life but it wasn’t the case where the marriages of the couples in attendance were concerned.
Annie Mthembu, who is vociferous, made it clear that she was more than enough woman for her Zulu husband.
As the echo of discord filled the dining room, Nonku Williams weighed in on the topic. However, her comments, drawn from a clearly painful past, led to controversial comments like “black men are cheaters” and “white men buy”.
The generalisation didn’t sit well with Jojo Robinson, who was offended on behalf of Calven, her husband of 10 years.
A somewhat bemused Londie London and Nonkanyiso Conco aka LaConco observed the dissension while Sorisha Naidoo, who was accompanied by her gusband as Vivian Reddy was away, was curious by Musa’s comments about wishing “Viv was here”.
The morning after, the polygamist issue weighed on several minds.
Sorisha, who caught Viv up on the event over tea, made it clear that she would not entertain him taking on another wife – not that he had any intention of doing so, mind you.
Jojo cautioned Calven against getting any ideas about the same but he made it clear he was a happy-wife, happy-life kinda guy.
That said, he also played devil’s advocate when it came to Nonku’s misunderstood comments. He felt it came from a place of hurt and, in a loving way, told Jojo that telling her to “shut up” was not okay.
As such Jojo invited Nonku to go quad biking to clear the air. While addressing the elephant in the room, both women unpacked the abuse they suffered in their past relationships, and it was heartbreaking.
Talking about beefs, another came to light when Thobile visited Sorisha, who has clearly become the default confidant-cum-therapist in the group.
While walking Sorisha’s pugs through the neighbourhood, Thobile unpacked the visible tension between LaConco and her but claimed to have no beef with her. She also confirmed that LaConco is BFF’s with MaYeni (Musa’s second wife).
Of course, LaConco’s issue differs somewhat in this she said-she said scenario.
Before the episode ended, the unresolved issue of Annie calling Nonku’s mom out for being rude surfaced like a bad penny.
Hopefully, it has been put to bed now that Annie has made it clear that she is “not friends” with either of them. Ouch!
“The Real Housewives of Durban” season 2 is streaming on Showmax with the next episode dropping on Friday.