Mbalenhle Mavimbela reflects on her role as Hlomu on The Wife

by Staff Bona

For two years now, South Africans have been glued to their screens as they watch the multi-award winning, record-breaking Showmax original telenovela, The Wife. 

As the show comes to an end, Mbalenhle Mavimbela has been hailed by Twitter as “the national wife” for her breakthrough performance opposite first Bonko Khoza and then Wiseman Mncube as Mqhele Zulu. Their toxic love story forced Hlomu to choose between a life of uncovering the truth and a life of hiding it, as she transformed from a passionate investigative journalist into the matriarch of the Zulu brothers’ crime family.

The breakout star reflected on her role and what it has done for her career and said:

“Getting this character on such a huge platform, Showmax, has been life-changing: financially, mentally and work-wise in terms of how I approach my career,” says the Ladysmith-born actress.

“When people see me, they still see Hlomu and still talk about how Hlomu has touched them,” she says. “I’ve had a couple of people cry when they see me. I think it’s because of the touching storyline that Hlomu has and how well I performed it. As much as I’m de-roling, I think Hlomu will last in my life forever. People will always see Hlomu when they see me.”

“I didn’t do it alone,” she adds, quick to share credit. “I did it with my co-stars, with the team which was the floor – the crew, directors, producers, writers, continuity, and production – and with Showmax, who could see how big the show was going to be.”

In particular, she thanked the Zulu brothers she acted opposite. “Working with the brothers has been so amazing,” she says. “The Zulu brothers became my brothers; we became family. Some of them still call me; we still hang out, even to this day. They’ve literally welcomed me as a mother, a little sister and a wife. I guess I will forever be that to them. Working with them was so amazing and so fun. We spent so much time with each other and built great bonds. We learnt so much from each other and want to collaborate more.”

Find out how Hlomu and Mqhele’s toxic love story ends, and whether Naledi and Qhawe live happily ever after, by tuning into the series finale of The Wife, now streaming on Showmax.

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