Stage and TV legend Sello Maake kaNcube and wife Pearl Mbewe continue to serve couple goals, 12 months after saying “I do”.
On Monday, October 17, the former “Generations” actor and his manager wife, shared sweet tributes to one another in celebration of their one-year anniversary.
The couple shared a series of snaps from the day they officially laid eyes on each other in 2020, to the moment when Sello popped the question and the day they became husband and wife.
I had the privilege of chatting with the love birds on Tuesday, about the secret to their successful and healthy relationship.
I couldn't resist but ask how they spent their anniversary day. And Sello shared:“I always prefer to celebrate very quietly, especially on the day and thereafter you can say let’s have our celebration.”
“I think for me, the day becomes a day or moment of reflection. I celebrate my birthdays that way, they become days of reflection and I’m dragging my wife into that space as well,” he added.
“We are going to be celebrating on October 27. We've invited 10 couples, who are celebrating their anniversaries in October, and who have also been married for almost 24 months too,” said Pearl.
“We will be breaking bread, share ideas on how to make our marriages work, and hopefully walk this journey with them for the next 60 years.
She continued: “Love is beautiful and we need to stop shying away from celebrating love because we are scared that people will say, ‘It will end in tears’”.
Taking us down memory lane, Pearl said after Sello had turned down about four business meetings with her, she was shocked when he finally showed up at her mother’s place, over 24 months ago.
“We were supposed to have met a couple of times before we officially met. I wanted to work on a certain project with him and he kept on cancelling.
“So, we both happen to know Lebo, who is married to Letoya Makhene. When I got the invitation (to Lebo and Letoya's engagement party), I asked him if he was attending and he said yes.”
“I then asked him to fetch me but because he had cancelled our business meetings too many times previously, I didn't think he was going to pitch. So I didn't even bother myself getting ready,” recalled Pearl.
“I was sitting at home, drinking wine with my friend who was visiting…I was at my mom's house at the time.
“When he arrived my sister said, ‘Ntate Sello is outside,’ I said ‘what do you mean, he’s outside? I thought that was impossible,” she said in between chuckles.
Sello added in the background: “And I had to wait two hours for her to get ready.”
“I had to make him wait. I thought to myself, what kind of human being are you, you cancel important meetings and you show up for a party.
“The nicest thing is I asked my sister to go check what he was wearing so I could compliment his look. And walked into that event like the couple that we are today. And, for me the first moment I saw him, I knew he was my soulmate, he just didn’t know it yet.”
Sello and Pearl added that their 22-year age difference didn’t bother them so it shouldn’t bother anyone else.
“Les Brown once said, ‘Anybody’s opinion is not my reality. Any negative thing you say about me is not my reality. I know what my reality is,” said Sello.
Sello shared with IOL Entertainment his top tips to a successful and healthy marriage.
“I always say, as soon as one is born, we get prepared for all sorts of things in life. Like going to school, we are being prepared to contribute to the economy.
“We do 12 years of schooling and then another four years of tertiary. After that, we actually get to play the role that we have been born for in a conventional way, which is when you reach a certain stage, you get married, and be somebody's husband or somebody's father.
“And I think that is the last role at best, according to the ecosystem of life...that final or what they call the third act of your life, you never get prepared for.
“Throughout your life you had to learn first and then get a certificate and this one you get a certificate before you even complete the course. In marriage, you're going to learn by trial with a certificate in your hand.”
For Pearl, it’s about personal space, boundaries and supporting your partner in everything that they do.