Phindile Gwala says her ex used to accuse her of 'fake' crying

Imagine being told you are acting, when you are hurt and genuinely trying to express yourself to your bae... that is the kind of crap Phindile Gwala had to deal with before she found her prince charming, Armando Ngandu.

The actress told Drum how happy she was to have found a man who doesn't make her career an "issue" in their relationship.

Phindile reflected on a time when an ex-boyfriend of hers dismissed her tears as an act after he'd hurt her.

"I dated someone for over two years and every time he did something wrong and I would cry about it, he would say 'Uyabona ke manje, usuqala uku actor' (You see now, you are starting with the acting)."

After several reports have stated that the actress was engaged late last year, Phindile later confirmed that Armando paid lobola in December.

The actress said she was thrilled to have finally found someone who didn't want to make a "token girlfriend" out of her.

"I struggled with dating, especially when I started acting. Men would sometimes approach me because they saw me on TV and they wanted me to be the token girlfriend. 

Phindile, who is popular for her Muvhango character Nonny, announced last year that she had resigned from the SABC 2 soapie in order to have more time for her business.

Sunday Sun reported that Phindile said she resigned for the sake of her brand's growth.

"I resigned because I have been there for some time and I want to grow my brand beyond Muvhango," she apparently told the paper.