J'Something and Coco on their love, Lover's Rock picnic

Celebrity couple J'Something and Coco are helping restore our faith in love and setting the mood for Valentine's Day in celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary.

Affectionately known as “Coco and J” by their fans, the couple often share snapshots of their daily lives, family and cooking content with 11,000 followers on their Instagram page.

Real names Cordelia, 35, and Joao da Fonseca, 36, they have two children.

Asked about the secret to longevity in love, J'Something –who is the lead vocalist for the popular band Mi Casa and author of cookbook Something’s Cooking –quips: “You cannot cook with one sauce; you cook with a pantry full of things.

“Sometimes the sauce is patience, other times it is grace or encouragement. Living in the moment allows you to understand what sauce you need to apply for that moment.”

I connected with the couple just a few days before V-Day at Artistry in Sandton, the restaurant owned by J'Something. Sandwiched between trendy black brick apartments and towering buildings, the charm of its rustic interiors is complemented by exposed brickwork, ample natural light and a slice of the Sandton skyline. 

Behind the kitchen is a wall of fame of aureate-framed photographs of musicians Zoë Modiga, Manana, Ntsika and others decorating the minimalistic space. 

Settling into their seats, the couple breaks the ice with chit-chat over the stiffness of J'Something’s muscles. Coco quietly chuckles, remarking on his weights routine. The pair have recently begun to go to the gym together. “I will agree that living one day at a time has been our secret source for the past seven years. But within that, it's also communication, to be open with each other and feel safe in a relationship is so important,” says Coco

The couple's life analogy tattooed on their arms gives a glimpse into how they approach joint culinary ventures. In celebration of their 10th anniversary, the couple decided to share the occasion by inviting Joburg to their picnic.

“Last year, very innocently, Coco said to me what are we going to do to celebrate? I said we must do something special,” says J'Something.

“He goes, yeah, I'll think about it,” Coco gently interrupts him. “Jay’s answer was Lover's Rock.”

J'Something adds: “To give perspective, in November last year, I said to Coco, we should do a picnic called Lover's Rock. I called our team and asked them to please design me a poster of us riding a bike through the park and we wrote: “Lover's Rock food and music picnic, 15th of February”. We put it online and asked people if they were interested in subscribing to the database. A couple of days later we had nearly 10,000 people that had subscribed. We were like, wow, okay, we do this?”

Their curated experience will feature a line-up of Manana, Shekhinah, DJ Fresh, DJ Kent and other musicians the couple loves at The Ground Venue in Mogale City on Saturday. The day will also feature a lifestyle market, which is a nod to the farmers markets they frequent on weekends and a unique picnic experience curated by Artistry.

Coco and J'Something's love blossomed from a bubbling friendship when they first met 14 years ago with what began over a 30 Seconds board game. “The first time I laid eyes on him, he was working at a recording studio and he had the keys, so a bunch of our friends went and they would play games. We played 30 Seconds,” says Coco as they steal glances.

“At the time, we had a mutual friend he went to high school with and that is how we metThe recording studio was located on Eloff Street [in Johannesburg] and owned by the Soul Candi people and I was essentially prepping the rooms for artists to come and rehearse and record. It was fun but wasn't what I wanted to do.”

Coco says, over the years, they've learnt to manoeuvre J'Something's busy schedule. “We've become so good at making any day the most amazing and romantic,” she says. 

“We’ve celebrated Valentine's Day five days after the actual day and it's been the most beautiful day because of us being together and not necessarily of the day. We've learnt to seize the moment. It doesn't need to have a name; it doesn't need to have a title.”