MaCele Mseleku on more than 20 years of marriage.
MaCele prefers to keep her life private. However, due to the influx of reality shows and her newfound presenting role, she has been compelled to venture beyond her usual boundaries and fully embrace the limelight, TrueLOVE revealed in a recent interview with her.
Little did Busisiwe ‘MaCele’ Mseleku know that she would eventually find herself in the spotlight as the host of a TV show.Being a reality show star on Uthando Nes’thembu still seems like a distant dream for her, as she prefers to keep her life private and maintain a reserved demeanour. However, the tides have turned as MaCele has taken on the role of the new host of the Mzansi Wethu reality show Ezomshado, alongside her sister-wife, Thobile ‘MaKhumalo’ Mseleku.
She thoroughly enjoys assisting couples in navigating through the ups and downs of marriage. The first episode was a thrilling rollercoaster of emotions.“Being a host is different. But what is good about it is that all the stories are real, and there is no faking. I am also allowed to be myself. Had the show required me to change, I would have struggled,” MaCele says.
“It’s nothing I’ve ever dreamt of doing. But I always knew that I wanted to speak to married people whether in seminars or workshops. I was thinking of speaking to women in polygamous marriages. But when this came up, I realise that marriage is marriage, no matter the set-up.”
“Even before the show, people would come to me for advice on cheating, stepchildren, mothers-in-law and husbands suddenly discussing polygamy. They would expect me to tell them to agree to polygamy and I usually say no because some of the women don’t seem ready, they never saw themselves in a polygamous marriage or some just don’t like sharing,” she says.
“I am very private about my life. I also don’t see myself as a celebrity. There are too many expectations of how you should live your life when you’re a celebrity, which is so different from who I am.My values haven’t changed. I don’t want pressure from society or anyone. I remain true to myself and live my normal life. My life is also not a spectacle.” she says.
MaCele says being in a polygamous marriage is a tough job on its own.“Whether you are wife number one or number five, marriage is just not easy. Being a wife comes with tough responsibilities. There are high expectations of how to look, behave and handle situations. You need to see the kind of home and family you wish to marry into before and create the kind of marriage you would like yourself in your head before,” she says.
Being the eldest sister-wife in the Mseleku household and collaborating with the last wife, MaKhumalo, she couldn’t help but be pleasantly surprised by their delightful on-screen chemistry. Even the other sister-wives are sending their best wishes to her as she embarks on her new journey as a TV host.
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“I enjoyed working with MaKhumalo on Ezomshado. There was chemistry and even when we disagreed, we stayed professional because it was not about us and our marriage.When a person does something good, away from the family, I always wish them well. In a polygamous marriage, people think you don’t have your own life and own interest, but you also live separate lives. They are happy for me.” she says.
On 3 January 2019, she tragically lost her mother. In 2023, she chose to honour her mother’s memory by celebrating the life she lived on the day of her passing. She’s got a few loose ends to tie up in her marriage of over 20 years.
“I went home to my mother’s house Ezingolweni in KZN and slept there. This year, I want to prepare for her tombstone unveiling.My plans are too personal. There are things that I need to deal with in my marriage … Mseleku and I were supposed to have celebrated our 20th anniversary with a white wedding, but the plans were not met. This is weighing down on me. If we don’t correct this, I will have to make big decisions. It’s not about the dress. It’s about the principle, the promise and what it means to me. It will remind me of our love and union.” she says
“When I got married, I told myself that I would be the first Cele woman to not have a failed marriage. I come from a home of women who leave when they are frustrated in a marriage. I refuse to leave no matter what. Divorce is not even on my vocabulary unless the other person wants it.” she says
