‘I’m empty – nothing’: Nellie Tembe’s sister still grieves

The actress asked her followers for advice on how to find a release and cry again after being left tearless from past hurtful situations.


Just over nine months have passed since Anele ‘Nellie’ Tembe passed away after a fatal accident, and her older sister, Television presenter, and actress Palesa Tembe is still finding it hard to cope without her.

The SAFTA award nominee took to social media to express how she has the strong urge to cry, but is finding it hard to because of everything that happened in 2021 which took all her tears.

“I wanna cry, really really badly. But I think 2021 took all my tears. I’m empty, nothing. There’s nothing! Every time I try to cry – nothing. Empty tear ducts. It scares me,” said the MC.

Palesa then went on to seek advice from her followers on how to deal with this process, and how to get the tears flowing once again.

“If you relate, please tell me what helped you? And maybe you can help me,” said Tembe on her Instagram story.

Touched by her situation, Tembe’s followers responded to her social media posts, and many said how they can relate to the situation of not having any more tears to cry due to everything they have been through in life.

Palesa Tembe
Screenshot from Palesa Tembe’s Instagram stories

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Others advised the actress to go to therapy and see a psychiatrist, or even start journaling and writing down all of her frustrations, disappointments, and situations which have hurt her.

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Screenshot from Palesa Tembe’s Instagram stories
Instagram story
Screenshot from Palesa Tembe’s Instagram stories

The television presenter ended off the Q&A session by saying that she could not share all of the answers she received from her followers because her stories would then be too long, and some people have shared intimate stories which she does not feel comfortable sharing with others.

She also said how the feedback she got from her followers was helpful to her, and hoped that it was helpful for her other followers who are in the same situation as her.

Palesa Tembe
Screenshot from Palesa Tembe’s Instagram stories

“Unfortunately I can’t share every single response because wow my stories will be long, and obviously people opened up with very intimate accounts of their ordeals, so I gotta respect them (even if I hide names, it just feels wrong).

“But hopefully some of this feedback I have shared helps you guys, it most certainly helped me,” said Tembe.

The Tembe family was struck by grief throughout the year 2021 after their youngest, Anele, passed away on 11 April 2021, after falling from the 10th floor of the Pepperclub Hotel in Cape Town where she and her fiancé Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes were staying during their visit to the mother city.

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