Winning awards and taking accountability: Mommy Club's Her Majesty reflects on S3
The Mommy Club star Happy 'Her Majesty' Simelane won reality TV star of the year at the Africa Choice Awards.
She reveals her disappointment at the direction of The Mommy Club in season 3.
Happy has launched her own beauty salon franchise called HerMajesty Beautique.
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Happy Simelane has officially become reality TV royalty.
Affectionately known as Her Majesty, Happy has been a staple on South Africa's screens throughout the three seasons of The Mommy Club - but not without drama and controversy.
The 36-year-old mom of three has just come off her wins at the Zikomo Africa Awards and the Africa Choice Awards in Lagos, Nigeria, for Best Reality TV Star.
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'Winning this award was an incredibly humbling experience. I'm deeply grateful for the recognition, which affirms my passion for reality TV and encourages me to keep delivering authentic and meaningful performances,' Happy tells TRUELOVE.
'It's a profound honour for both my family and me. Being recognised on a continental stage not only celebrates our collective efforts but also creates exciting opportunities for growth and connection across Africa.'
The Mommy Club should set itself apart from other reality TV shows
Over the past three seasons of The Mommy Club, Happy has laid her heart and her family bare onscreen and through the court of public opinion.
The third season, which featured new castmates Mrs J, Noksie Khumalo, Pheladi, Rosette Ncwana and Vuyi alongside returning mom Mrs Sande, ended on a tense and uncertain note.
From spiritual attacks to fractured friendships, the tension has reached a boiling point, with the cast now clearly split into two opposing factions and no resolution in sight.
On one side stood Happy, Mrs Sande, and newcomers Pheladi and Vuyi. On the other side were newcomers Mrs J, Noksie and friend of the show Rosette.
With the premiere of the third season's reunion hosted by Ntombee Ngcobo-Mzolo, Happy shares with us how disappointed she was at the direction of the show, with the cast shocked that scenes shot with their families didn't make the show's final cut.
Happy says, 'These fights and unnecessary drama, honestly that's not empowerment for me but at the end of the day we are talent and the producers or the directors they have their own version of the direction the show will take.
'But if I were to be given a platform to be a director on that show, I would drive it into that narrative of inspiring and empowering mothers, how do they navigate their day to day. So, I'd also like to see more real life issues. Because, I mean, being a parent and being a mom isn't easy, there's different dynamics to it.'
Happy wasn't innocent throughout this season
Branded as a 'bully' against newcomers Noksie and Mrs J,
speaking on her demeanour at the reunion, Happy says, 'You can see I'm so disappointed and I'm so remorseful. I was like, you know what, I'm not here to defend myself or to try - like I was in that surrender mode. I'm like, I'm not defending anything, I'm here to apologise and move on. Because I've got young girls who look up to me, I'm their role model ... My followers, a lot of young girls, they follow me, so I was really so ashamed and so embarrassed to be labelled a bully.'
She continues, 'Others were happy that I was just so humble and I was taking accountability. But those who obviously wanted to drag me down the drain, I disappointed them because I gave them nothing to talk about.'
Happy also dives into where she stands with the ladies on the cast now that the show is wrapped, highlighting that being on The Mommy Club has taught her that, at the end of the day, the cast is just colleagues to one another.
'After the reunion, I still sent Mrs J an apology, extending my apology again on black and white and Noksie, I still sent Noksie a text to say I'm sorry. Do I talk to Pheladi? I do talk to Pheladi here and there, Sande here and there and Vuyi, she's my neighbour, we do talk, even this morning we spoke,' Happy shares.
'So, the only person that I can say this one is my friend, that's Vuyi because we know each other outside the show and way before the show. So, people that we meet on the show, honestly experience taught me that they are not your friends, they're your colleagues.'
A focus on women empowerment
Happy wouldn't say no to returning for another season of the reality show should she be given the chance, 'Unless if I get my own show,' she laughs.
For now, though, she is focused on her latest business venture: launching her beauty salon franchise HerMajesty Beautique.
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'It's a beauty salon where we will be doing nails and offering hair, right. So, we will focus on nails, hair, waxing, you know that maintenance stuff that we need as women every month ... So, we are working on that project, we are looking to open our stores at the end of this year,' she explains.
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