When people get married they vow to love each other in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer and 'til death do them apart. In this episode of Makoti Unveiled, we speak to women who have lost their husbands.
We are joined by Nonhlanhla Mhlongo and Dr Mmasechaba Shai.
Mhlongo describes her husband, Philane, as a humble and welcoming soul who passed away on Valentine’s Day in 2022 – a few months shy of their sixth year anniversary.
Philane died from complications related to Covid-19. He had tested positive for the virus on 5 December 2021, and Mhlongo describes the next three months that followed as filled with sickness coupled with emergency room visits.
The 35-year-old mother of two never imagined that she would be a widow in her thirties.
Dr Mmasechaba Shai (59) was married to veteran actor Patrick Shai for 40 years before he took his own life.
She discovered the body of her beloved husband, hanging from the roof of the garage in their Johannesburg home on 22 January 2022.
“The pain of death is painful and pain of losing your partner is more painful,” Dr Shai explains.
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They speak on grief, how society treated them in their time of need and how they picked up their lives after loss.
“Widowhood is the loneliest journey you could walk as a human being,” Mhlongo adds.
Listen to the conversation they have with our resident makoti Siya Tsewu:
Watch the episode here:
