RHOD star and budding entrepreneur Slindile 'Slee' Ndlovu thanks the day she chose herself

Real Housewives of Durban star Slindile Ndlovu hopes to inspire women to choose themselves regardless of their circumstances. 

Ndlovu, affectionately known as Slee, was one of season three’s breakout stars whose storyline dominated the headlines and trends list. It came after she had to publicly deal with her messy break-up with her fiancé AmaZulu Football club boss, Sandile Zungu, who married another woman. 

Her break-up saw her move out of her family home, leaving her two daughters aged, 15 and 11 behind with her ex-fiancé. 

“As women we tend to forget ourselves and focus on the people around us. Leaving all that I had wasn’t an easy transition for me... it took me remembering that I was ‘Slee’ who had a purpose before I met him. I was a functioning human being who would sustain herself before the lifestyle he provided me – yes, it took time to readjust but what helped was being true and realistic about the situation I was faced with,” said the reality TV star. 

“I would constantly have honest conversations with myself about what I wanted and what I needed. I knew I had to downgrade my lifestyle and didn’t mind it when people called me broke – that was my reality and I was OK with it.”

Ndlovu now runs her own business, which has been her biggest driving motivation. 

“I didn’t choose to be on reality TV because I don’t like drama but I saw it as a great platform to rebuild and reintroduce myself as a businesswoman. The opportunity to be on the show came at a time in my life where I needed to rebrand,” she explains.

“When I made my TV debut last year, I amassed a huge following overnight. This helped me in terms of business. I used the show as my launching platform but there are cons to these things. 

“My life is now exposed for people to see and have an opinion about. I am well aware that not everyone will like you and I’m OK with that. One thing I am grateful for is that I know how to switch off whenever I feel uncomfortable. Whenever I hear or see something negative about me, I can ignore it and shut down. I am mature enough to know that I don’t have to entertain everything.”

The fourth season of the reality series kicked off this past Friday, which saw the original housewives Nonku Williams and Sorisha Naidoo making their return to the show. Jojo Robinson returns for her third season, while Maria Valaskatzis and Ndlovu return for their second. 

Ameigh Sibahle Thompson, Nqobile “Angel” Ndlela, and Zamaswazi Ngcobo join The Real Housewives of Durban for the first time.

While she doesn’t regret leaving her life behind and starting anew, Ndlovu has found love in the arms of a new man she’s been dating for a year

“One thing I love about my man is that he allows me to be myself. He is very understanding and knows my love language... he’s also not controlling,” she revealed. 

“I’m in a better space now. I am my own person who makes her own decisions. Whatever I own now is solely mine. I no longer worry that someone might leave me and take everything away from me,” she boldly adds. “I’ve learnt not to repeat the same mistakes I made in relationships or my business. 

“I’ve also decided to never be a ‘kept’ woman ever again.”