WATCH | First look at Mbalenhle Mavimbela as Hlomu in ‘The Wife’

Rising star Mbalenhle Mavimbela of Skeem Saam fame has snagged the coveted lead role of Hlomu in the upcoming Showmax telenovela The Wife.

The actress will play Hlomu, a journalist who falls in love with a taxi driver, not realising that when you marry a man, you marry his secrets.

Hlomu will fall in love with Mqhele (played by Bonko Khoza), who burst onto the acting scene as Jabz in the multi-award-winning film Necktie Youth and has since appeared in Professionals and the Emmy-nominated Roots.  

Mbalenhle is excited to bring Hlomu to life and is a fan of the books.

“When I found out Hlomu the Wife was being turned into a series, I jumped at the chance to audition,” said Mbalenhle.

“Funnily enough, a while back I did a TikTok pretending to be Hlomu the Wife and that I had ‘made it’, not knowing I would end up playing the character. It was even trending.” 

Mbalenhle is under a lot of pressure because the book on which the telenovela is based is popular and the minute people on social media found out it was being turned into a telenovela, they began doing their own casting for the “perfect Hlomu”.

“It feels like I’ve been keeping a secret from my fans and followers for months, and I couldn’t even post a hint. I’ve been watching fans ‘casting’ from the sidelines on Twitter and Facebook but haven’t been able to say anything.”

Watch the teaser below: