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So much cash to get Married in a Flash

Nolu Malope will be presenting a new show on SABC 3 called Married In A Flash which will air on Wednesdays. Picture: Masi Losi
Nolu Malope will be presenting a new show on SABC 3 called Married In A Flash which will air on Wednesdays. Picture: Masi Losi

Wedding season is upon us and Noluthando "Nolu" Malope is capturing all the joy in the air with new reality TV show Married in a Flash.

The 13-episode SABC3 show, hosted by Malope on Wednesday nights, sees couples given R75000 every week to creatively execute their big day. But the big twist is that they only have three days to plan their special day.

Malope sashays into our offices in Johannesburg on a windy Monday afternoon. Her prance is as enchanting as Carrie Bradshaw strutting down New York City in Sex and the City.

She leaves me and the photographer spellbound during her photo-shoot on the rooftop.

She is fresh off a plane after shooting another exciting episode of the show in Cape Town over the weekend. Malope is sporting a big rock of her own on her finger. The mother of a six-year-old boy has been engaged for the past two years.

"We are in no rush to get married. We are very happy with things as they are right now," she confesses.

Married in a Flash is produced by Basetsana Kumalo's Connect TV, which also brought TV viewers Our Perfect Wedding (OPW) on Mzansi Magic. She strongly denies that the show is anything like OPW.

"When people find out that it's the same production company, there is going to be a comparison. The concept is very different," she explains.

"We come, surprise them on a Wednesday and from there it's just a roller-coaster ride where relationships are tested.

"What I love about the show is that there is a lot of diversity.

"It's not a typical wedding show where they cover just one segment of South African couples. We have couples that represent everyone in South Africa in 2017."

The 28-year-old pint-sized beauty is the adopted daughter of Rebecca Malope - she's also the gospel megastar's manager. Her biological mother, Cynthia, was Rebecca's older sister. "After my mom passed away when I was seven, my two siblings and I all moved in with Rebecca who raised us.

"Everyone called them twins because they looked alike and spent most of their time together. Rebecca has always been our second mom.

"She is full of energy even at home. She hardly has a down moment. There have been moments where she found the strength in her kids. She's always looking on the bright side."

Malope has been in the entertainment space for the last 12 years. She started as a commercial model when she was just 16 years old.

She has featured on almost every reality TV competition show as a contestant, with no luck - from the Coca-Cola Pop Stars to MTV's VJ Search and Presenter Search on SABC3.

She broke her losing streak in 2014 by hosting ONE Gospel's music talk show More Than a Song. She cites the show as her big break.

"For everything that people saw me audition for on TV, I auditioned for a million other shows that people didn't see," she says.

"I'm very goal-driven and focused. I never give up. I always knew that it did not matter how long it took me to get into the industry, it would happen and I would be successful, all in God's timing."

As an actress, Malope has had cameo roles in soapies Isibaya and Generations. She teases that she is currently part of the cast of an upcoming etv series that will be announced soon.

Malope is also plotting her music debut as an Afro-soul singer.

"The scariest part with making music, because she [Rebecca] has dominated the gospel space, whenever I think of releasing new music there is that fear that am I ever going to measure up? Will people like me for who I am?," she says.

"That's why I think that if it's a different genre, people will be more willing to listen," added Malope.