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Minnie Dlamini on her friendship with Unathi, her family and festive get-togethers
The Citizen caught up with Minnie Dlamini on the set of Festive Get-Together to chat about her family, her career and her friendships.
Minnie Dlamini-Jones is the new face of a new summer collection for Ipanema. Picture: Instagram @minniedlamini
Media personality Minnie Dlamini has experienced the most significant milestones of her adult life right before our eyes.
In 2010, she emerged victorious after a presenter search for SABC1’s weekly music show, Live.
Since then, she has hosted countless television shows and even tried her hand at acting, all while meeting the man who would go on to be her husband, marrying him, filming the process for television, losing her brother and welcoming her first child.
Although there is a lot we may not know about what really goes on in Minnie’s private life, she has shared a significant portion of it with the public.
Another part of her life she happily shares with fans is her friendship with Unathi Nkayi, whom she appeared alongside in an episode of Nkayi’s show, Festive Get Together in the Life Artois.
The show was renewed for a second season which is currently airing on Mzansi Magic and Minnie was among the guests featured on the show. Other guests included Melanie Bala, who is also a close friend of Unathi’s as well as Maps Maponyane, J’Something, Khuli Chana and Lamiez Holworthy.
The Citizen caught up with Melanie and Minnie on the day of filming to chat about all things related to festive get-togethers, Christmas time and family.
“With Unathi, I speak to her almost every day so the moment we get together and start speaking, I’m sure we’ll all pretty much forget that the cameras are around, that’s how we are,” said Minnie of her time on set.
She went on to gush about their friendship and how the conversation pretty much never ends whenever they’re together.
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Seeing a celebrity get interviewed by someone they consider a friend is a rare occurrence. So rare that the level of comfort between the two parties is one of the first things you notice whenever watching such an interview.
“It’s very interesting when someone is interviewing you and they know you because you can’t lie. Especially if they’re the type of person to call you out!” exclaimed Minnie before laughing.
“I just feel like the content will always be more beautiful, more organic, more respectful. There will always be topics I’m more willing to speak about with someone like her because we have such a close relationship and we also understand that we’ve all got a job to do but we’re also cognizant of protecting each other’s spaces.”
She does consider this to be a catch-22 as well because as an interviewer, you know so much about your subject, but as a friend, you’re apprehensive of compromising your friendship by touching on topics the interviewee may not want to be disclosed publicly.
Connection is a major theme throughout the show and Minnie loves this, stating that different types of relationships are explored and presented on the show and that this is important because society needs to see these examples more often.
“I think this show has really captured the essence of capturing true connection, which I think is special.”
Festive season plans with family
“Nope! I will not be travelling in December. I am staying right here with my son and my husband. My parents can come visit,” declares Minnie after a busy year of travelling and working as well as a recent trip with her husband Quinton and her son, Netha.
Despite hosting events and being around people for a living, Minnie somehow still has the energy to host in her personal capacity as well. She shared how her family always has people at their house and estimates that it is this way nearly every weekend.
“One of the questions earlier was ‘are you a good host?’ and I would say no, I’m terrible. If you come to my house, it’s your house. You can open the fridge, grab yourself a glass, I’ll see you outside. Mix me a drink if you want to.”
“I love having my friends and family over, it makes me very happy,” she added.
She says this is important to her as she doesn’t always have time to see her loved ones due to her busy schedule.
What’s next for Minnie?
In this next season, Minnie will be donning her actress hat once again for a film called The Honeymoon which she says will premiere next year.
“It’s going to be a fun movie, something you can watch with your girls,” she said.
Festive Get-Together in The Life Artois airs on Wednesdays at 9h30pm on Mzansi Magic (DStv channel 161) and repeats air on Sundays at 2pm.
