Content creator Grace Mondlana has opened up about the pain of losing her ex-boyfriend Sipho Lazarus Zulu, who died in a car crash on June 29.
Taking to social media, Grace said she and Sipho dated for years but kept their relationship private to protect it.
“Sipho was the love of my life for more than five years,” she said. “I have kept my relationship with him off the internet for so long and I would say I'm travelling alone, whereas I was with him every time. I protected us.”
Grace is a content creator who transitioned from being a teacher. She is known for her lifestyle vlogs on TikTok, reaching more than 1.8-million followers. She won the Emerging Content Creator Award at the DStv Content Creator Awards recently.
The couple met in university when Grace was 18 and Sipho 24.
“We shared many of our firsts together: our first time at the beach, our first jobs and our first flights. We did it all together. A recent goal we achieved was renovating our homes.”
Grace recalled the moment they opened a tutorial company in varsity to make ends meet.
“With our first payment from a client I got him sneakers and we stopped sharing mine. LOL [laughing out loud]. I would do anything for my baby; I'd save him from anything. When I looked at his body after the accident at the hospital, for once, I couldn't save him.
“As my final act of love, I gave him the most beautiful send-off. Though I always wish he'd wake up and say, 'Chubby cheeks, uyakhala? [Are you crying?] Uyakhalaaaaa!'”
Their relationship ended early this year, but they maintained contact until they moved on.
“While we checked in on each other, we made the decision to move on and we ended up finding our own people and cutting ties for good. The night before he died he sent me a message that was an indirect goodbye, mentioning how he was proud of me and that I should continue to take care of myself.”
She said this has been the hardest week for her.
“I have been travelling to his home every day this week and I pass by the scene where the accident happened twice a day. My heart drops every time.”
She thanked her friends, family and partner for supporting her through this time.
“To everyone else who came to my place this week, sent me flowers and words of encouragement, plus my partner who'd drive behind me every day without fail, meeting me halfway from Mamelodi to my place at night. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.”
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