Being the talk of the town for their semi-nude art and romantic relationship is not what actress Thishiwe Ziqubu and Mandisa Nduna set out to do, but they have accepted it as part of their story and if it upsets the balance in society – so be it.
Speaking to TshisaLIVE about causing a storm with their semi-nude pictures, Thishiwe and Mandisa said they saw nothing wrong with expressing their love for each other on a public platform. They also said that they have had to accept that they may not be everybody’s “cup of tea”.
“More than the fact that we love each other, people look at us with raised eyebrows because we are not ashamed to express it. People are fine if we are together but on the down low, but hiding who you are is a dangerous game that neither Mandisa or I are interested in playing,” Thishiwe said.
Mandisa said they ‘know’ they look good together and would post as many loved-up pictures as they wanted.
“I love art in all its forms. Body art is a particular favourite of mine and I know for a fact that both Thishiwe and I are aesthetically appealing. This is just one channel we have chosen to use to express ourselves,” she said.
The pair said they both knew from an early age that they were not “typical” in terms of what they liked. As they grew older they realised that they were attracted to girls and although they have had to go through different difficulties that accompany “coming out” as individuals, they would not change anything in their journey.
“My first crush was a girl and although I also dated men as I grew up, I always knew I was attracted to females. So when Mandisa and I came out to the public, people in my close circle were not surprised. Of course as a black female from a religious family and conservative community, not everyone is as accepting,” Thishiwe said.
The pair said they fall in love with each other everyday and are living together with Thishiwe’s eight-year-old daughter.
Mandisa and Thishiwe couldn’t help but gush over each other as they tried to explain what attracted them to each other.
“She has great bums. But on the real, it is how much she has challenged me to become a better person and taught me to love her and to love me,” Mandisa said.
Thishiwe said she loved how Mandisa accepted her for everything that she is and that she fell in love with how Mandisa gave her the “freedom to be me”.
The couple said they were working on a project together and were toying with the idea of casting themselves in a reality show based on their life together.
“By hiding who we are as people in the LGBTI community, we give homophobic people more ‘power’ over us. Of course we live in a world where just by existing as a women, your life is endangered but we believe the trick is to live and love just as we are meant to do. How is it your life when you live it for other people,” they said.
Here are some of their saucy loved-up snaps:
Times Live
