South African actress and fashion designer Enhle Mbali Mlotshwa has opened up about tackling her mental health challenges and how she managed to achieve and maintain mental well-being.
During her recent interview with Dineo Ranaka and Sol Phenduka on Kaya959, Mlotshwa revealed that although she was in a “great place” at the moment, she was once in a very dark place.
“I'm in a really good place. I think I've been in a really great place for a very long time. Obviously, people don't see the journey behind the healing … (they) only see the trends and then it's done,” she said.
“When I did ‘Sincerely Yours’ (a podcast that Mlotshwa did in partnership with Touch HD in 2019), I was going through a transformation.
“And before ‘Sincerely Yours’, I remember finding myself having to go to a mental institution and I thought to myself I had gone far beyond depression.
She continued: “At this point, I’m not remembering anything. I’m constantly numb. I don’t know how I feel, I don’t have an opinion. And that to me said something is wrong.”
Mlotshwa revealed that she used to cry all the time.
“I was mourning the death of a love … I don’t want to get into this too much.
“I say this because I’ve grown over it and I feel everyone should do the same as well … I was mourning all the work and the fight I had put in to make something work and it didn’t. And that is death.”
The “Blood Psalms” actress explained to Ranaka and Phenduka that at that moment, she decided to seek professional help.
“I walked myself into a mental institution and I remember my psychologist saying, ‘You are seven years late but you made it.’ And from that day healing began.
“By the time I did ‘Sincerely Yours’ I was completely comfortable with where I was and comfortable with moving forward.”
Mlotshwa and her estranged husband, Grammy award-winning muso Black Coffee, real name Nkosinathi Maphumulo, filed for divorce in 2019 after eight years of marriage.
In March 2021, Mlotshwa applied for a protection order against Black Coffee after an alleged incident of abuse that took place at the couple’s marital home.
Mlotshwa alleged that the “Superman” hitmaker slapped her on the wrist during an altercation at their Sandton home, where she was hosting an intimate party to celebrate her 33rd birthday.
“I’ve been saying this since 2018, all I ever wanted was peace and peace of mind, and I have it,” Mlotshwa told Ranaka and Phenduka.
Watch the full interview below.
In the interview, Mlotshwa also touched on gender-based violence.
The Soweto-born star said she was raising her two sons to respect women.
“The reasons why the rapes are happening the way they are happening in South Africa is because there’s low self-worth within our men, a lot of the time.
“I’m not making excuses… this could be part of the problem. I feel that our men have pain they cannot speak of or articulate. Who are the first people to take it out on? Whoever is weaker than you, which is women and children. We need to have real conversations with our men.”