SHARON Dee of Local is Lekker fame has proved that being down does not mean being out.

When the songbird, who was once married to former Coventry City and Mamelodi Sundowns star Peter Ndlovu switched from pop to gospel things did not go as smoothly as she had hoped.

In fact, the last time 38-year-old Dee (real name Hlengiwe Dlamini) released an album was back in 2009.

But that solo gospel album titled Ungophakemeyo did not do that well in terms of sales.

To rub salt in the wound, the singer also experienced marital problems at the time which ultimately led to her divorce from love rat Ndlovu in 2009.

The singer was in and out of maintenance court in a bid to get Ndlovu to pay papgeld for their two sons.

"Ndlovu never paid up and this resulted in my having to take my kids to live with his sister in London last year.

"I just could not manage and things were not looking good for me at the time," she says.

But now things seem to look promising for Sharon again. She says life after divorce has been tough, but she is recovering well.

"It's a process this thing and I'm dealing with it through God's help," she says.

When asked if there was a new man in her life she responded: "there's no particular person in my life at the time being. I'm still recovering".

The singer tells us that four months ago she ventured into business and is running her own clothing boutique in Springs, KwaThema in Ekurhuleni.

She is also the new host and producer of a Sunday gospel show, Siyabadudula, on a radio station called Mbokodo FM in KwaZulu-Natal.