She's been on reality shows Date My Family, One Night With My Ex and acted on Amazing Grace. Now she's on Temptation Island.
And it's not even her day job.
Musa Qubinkomo is an IT professional who just loves TV. And she's not the only one. There international stars such as Charlotte Crosby and Gaz Beadle who started off on the hit reality TV show, Geordie Shore. But over the years they've also been on other reality TV shows such as Ex On The Beach, Celebrity Big Brother, Just tattoo of Us. Charlotte then went on to get some of her own shows, such as The Charlotte Show and The Charlotte Experience.
This happens in South Africa too, where the same faces appear on various reality shows.
We speak to Musa about making a career out of reality TV. Currently you may recognise her from Temptation Island, where the software developer and actress and her boyfriend of four years are testing out their relationship. In 2018 she was on Date My Family and not long after, One Night With My Ex. She's also had a role on Amazing Grace.
She's loved TV since she was young. When she passed matric, she wanted to study Media Studies so she could get into broadcasting but her mother refused. So she studied IT at Walter Sisulu University, and did drama part time.
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The hit reality dating show Date My Family was her first taste of TV.
“After Date My family I finally moved to Joburg and started my acting career. After that I started getting small features in shows like Skeem Saam, The Queen, but my biggest role so far has been on Amazing Grace.”
Couples on dating shows barely make it longer than it takes for the camera crew to pack up and leave but her relationship with the guy on Date My Family lasted for a few years. “He even met [the rest of] my family. My mother, my father, literally everyone.”
But they broke up.
Now she's on another show based on love and dating, Temptation Island. She wasn’t nervous about what people would say, about her putting herself and her current relationship out there again on TV for the whole of SA to see.
“For me it was easy because I don’t care about what anyone says, people will speak no matter what, so I wasn’t going to let that stop me.”
But this is probably the last time she'll do a show about love.
“I went on Date My Family to put myself out there and all and to establish myself as a brand - but I think I’ve had enough of dating shows. This was the last one, it takes a lot out of me.”
Musa tells us how she has managed to be in multiple reality shows in SA.
“Whenever I saw a show that I knew I wanted to be on, I’d pitch myself and just email that particular show. I’d tell them about all the previous shows that I’d been on, which helped them see that I’ve got experience. It’s also easy for them to put a face to the name because I’ve got a YouTube channel, where they can see what I’m about and my personality.”
But being on a reality show doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll instantly reap the rewards or be famous and make money from it.
How you are behind the scenes is just as important as your personality on screen, she says.
“If you speak to production behind the scenes and ask the right questions, they’ll see that you serious about your brand and help you develop. Otherwise, you’ll just end up as another person on the street who was on TV, and you won’t have gained anything from it.”
If you are serious about making career of reality TV, then often you have to go on the shows that you know align with your personality. That's her advice.
“I know for a fact I’d never go on a show like Big Brother. That I’d never do,” Musa says.
As much as Musa loves TV she has no intention of leaving her IT job. Instead, she intends to continue to juggle both. She's mum on the money side of reality TV, but she does have advice for those who’d like to enter the industry.
“Prepare yourself mentally, it takes an emotional toll on you. There’s a lot that happens behind the scenes that can take a toll on you emotionally. And don’t let what other people say get to you, because people will talk.”
One needs to understand that reality TV is a business after all. Musa has had to deal with being misrepresented on screen, she says.
“It’s happened so many times, where I was portrayed in a way that wasn’t true to my character, but I understand because these people need to make a show that sells. It’s business, and I know what I have signed up for.”
