Two Strangers at the wedding of "Thandi and Peter" aka Derek and Gail Matthee, who had never seen each other until at the altar
Photograph by: James Oatway

'Perhaps I will find Mr Right through this competition'

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Mary, 27, has three grooms to choose from: Tshepo, Mandla and Bradley (also not their real names .)

She told The Times that she entered the competition because she had had enough of attracting weird potential suitors.

"After trying dating websites I found some strange people such as old men in their 60s, or married men, responding to my adverts. The Internet didn't work for me," she said.

"I decided to try my luck with KayaFM's competition. I didn't enter because I thought I would win, but because the competition offered background checks that the Internet doesn't."

2 Strangers and a Wedding is a controversial radio competition modelled on the original Australian version, in which the marriage of two strangers is arranged by listeners.

The newlyweds then win the show's prizes.

The show is hosted by breakfast show anchor Kgomotso Matsunyane and author Ndumiso Ngcobo.

"I have been single for so long that I am tired of dating," said Mary, who beat 132 other hopefuls.

"I have tried everything and looked almost everywhere, so perhaps Mr Right will be found through this competition."

Her choice on this morning's show will be between the three men who beat 27 others to the final round:

• Father-of-two Bradley, 36, says he wants a wife who is "beautiful inside and out, preferably with a light complexion and a great body, who loves to stay healthy, and is friendly and loving. My philosophy has always been that if I feel good around her, then she is the one";

• Tshepo, 36, says he's a "loving, caring, kind, reliable, loyal, responsible, honest and trustworthy man"; and

• Mandla, 32, describes himself as "an ambitious person who lives a positive life. An extrovert of note and something of a metrosexual."

Mary and her groom will marry on December 11 in Johannesburg's Mary Fitzgerald Square in a sponsored ceremony worth R1.6-million, which includes a R12500 wedding dress and a honeymoon in Mpumalanga.

He will bag a Hummer to drive around in and she a Chevrolet Lumina, and they will live in a fully furnished apartment for a year.

"I am really not sure who I am going to pick, but it's a toss-up between Tshepo and Mandla," says Mary.