Nomsa Buthelezi on why she finally 'came out of the closet' about her love
Nomsa Buthelezi recently decided to take the "bold" step of declaring her love for her woman and has opened up to TshisaLIVE about why it took her so long to stand tall in her truth.
Taking to Instagram last week, Nomsa celebrated her partner Zandile by flaunting their love for the first time on social media.
Her cute post was captioned: "Today I celebrate us... I celebrate our love and let mama universe keep us together. Happy birthday Zandile. I love you, my king is a woman."
Nomsa confirmed to TshisaLIVE that Zandile is her romantic partner and even though their love is fairly new, she is madly in love.
"Yes, I am dating that lady. Her name is Zandile. It's been over six months. I've never shared anything about my love life because I'm a very private person. And I know most people think that me dating a girl has been a secret but it's not a secret. I just haven't been flaunting it."
Nomsa, who most people know as the bubbly OPW presenter explained that it was only after her parents assured her of their love for her regardless of who she dated that she decided she could take on the opinions of the world.
"My parents said to me, 'No, Nomsa we support you, you don't have to hide and be somebody that you are not. Be free to be who you are and love who you love.'"
She said people who were close to her knew for a while but she had never made a public declaration because she had observed the insults and abuse members of the LGBTQ+ community go through daily.
"I have been lesbian for many years of my life. I've been dating women for years. But because I once had a partner who was a guy it was hard for me to reclaim who I am publicly. It was hard. Usually coming out as a woman who dates other women is not easy, especially in townships. We are always scared of the reaction.
"But I decided this month, I'll share my love and also encourage other women to say, 'Hey this is me'. To say that I will date whoever makes me happy."
Nomsa said more than "coming out" all she wanted to share was how in love she is.
"I want to stand tall and say, 'Hey, my name is Nomsa Buthelezi and I am dating another woman and there's nothing wrong with that.'
"In this moment, I am so happy. She makes me happy. I'm happy to such an extent that I am living again. I never thought that I would be this happy. I want to show off my love and the closet doesn't have enough space to host my celebration of love."