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I expected the worst from ‘The Real Housewives of Gqeberha’
After travelling to the Eastern Cape for the screening of 'The Real Housewives of Gqeberha,' Kay Selisho shares her thoughts on the city and the show.
The Real Housewives of Gqeberha cast: Norma Nicol, Ashley Mather, Buli G, Unathi Faku and Liz Prins
I expected the worst from The Real Housewives of Gqeberha and after getting to watch the first episode along with the cast in the Eastern Cape, I am actually happy to admit that I was wrong.
When Gqeberha was first announced as the latest city in South Africa to join the global franchise, I – like other social media users and fans of the Real Housewives reality TV universe – had preconceived notions about what the show would bring.
It did not help that a funny edit of one of the cast members’ taglines was shared as promotional material in the lead-up to the show, lending itself to the idea that the show would be ghetto and cause audiences to cringe.
24 hours in Gqebs
To celebrate the first episode of The Real Housewives of Gqeberha and officially introduce the cast to the world, Multichoice hosted a select group of media for the #RHOGqeberha launch alongside the stars of the show, the production company, some government officials and other guests.
The trip, set against the backdrop of some of the locations used this season, helped paint a better picture of the city that most viewers may not have the luxury of understanding.
While it may be a small town it certainly didn’t feel like a sleepy place to be during the trip that saw the group stay at The Sun Boardwalk Hotel. For the launch event, we were shuttled to Andante Country Wedding and Events Venue nestled along the lush, green edge of the inland reserves of the province.
Giving people a better idea of what Gqeberha is all about seems to be a major motivating factor for most of the stars of The Real Housewives of Gqeberha.
“I love GQ because it’s a small town. It takes five minutes to get everywhere, even the airport… But besides that, the people are really nice. We have so many wealthy people but no one is really a show off. GQ is so lowkey but it’s full of fabulous people,” said cast member Liz Prins who moved to Gqeberha with her late husband 25 years ago.
She also said that she expects people to fall in love with the province and make plans to travel and visit after watching the show and seeing all the places they filmed at and the experiences the cast had on the show.
ALSO READ: Real Housewives of Gqeberha cast revealed
Liz’s sentiments were echoed by her new bestie, Noma Nicol who said; “GQ is a beautiful town, there are hidden gems in PE. On this show, we’re unveiling the beauty of GQ. We’re putting it on the map and we’re saying ‘darling, wait and see.’”
The ‘voetsek’ heard across South Africa
Norma is actually the cast member whose “voetsek” has been heard around the country with many expecting it to have been included in her opening tagline, much to the disappointment of those who watched the first episode.
“It was just a promo video. I’ve gown fond of a lady in the show and I always say voetsek to her. The other ladies, I’ve never said voetsek to so don’t make it a big thing…”
“Go to dictionary.com, ‘voetsek’ means ‘go away.’ Don’t make it a thing,” insisted Norma.
‘Real Housewives of Gqeberha’ reactions
Viewers of the show currently seem to be on the fence about #RHOGQ after the first episode, split evenly between those who love it and those who feel as though the show may be boring.
Showrunner Jemma Ford of G.O.A.T Productions – the production company behind the most recent season of Life With Kelly Khumalo – insists that the show is the perfect mix of humour and spice having drawn inspiration from the Real Housewives in cities such as Atlanta, Australia and Durban.
“When you meet our ladies, you will see their characters come through. They have a vision for themselves and for GQ so there’s a lot of spice coupled with humour which makes it quite different,” said Ford.
Speaking to The Citizen, Ford added; “We were truly blessed to find women who were already friends of have some element of history.”
She believes that this dynamic lent itself to how funny the ladies were in the first episode and hinted that more humour would be on the way, ushered in by new personalities set to join the cast later on in the season.
The first episode of The Real Housewives of Gqeberha set a far better tone than most people expected and they have an entire season left to cement themselves in the hearts and minds of viewers who have either launched the careers of Bravolebrities or revived the relevance of socialites who could have used the boost that comes with being on such a popular show.
ALSO READ: Real Housewives of Cape Town reactions: ‘This show is a joke’
