She is the best friend of the reality star and new mom Faith Nketsi.
She, in fact, considers herself the leading star of the MTV reality show Have Faith and her bestie knows that.
Kimberly “Kim” Kholiwe (30) says she could not be happier to return to the show for season four which premiered on 15 August.
“There’s no way I was not going to be back on the reality show, I’m the star of the show,“ she chuckles.
Like her wedding with Nzuzo Njilo, which she kept a secret, Faith recently announced in a photograph shared on social media that she was pregnant and had given birth already. She told her fans that she kept her pregnancy a secret to protect the unborn baby.
“These past nine months have been nothing but amazing. I can’t wait to share my journey with you guys. To my husband, I love you so much and you are such a blessing to my life. My little family is complete, and I am beyond grateful. To our beautiful baby, love is what you represent and I will love you with everything I am and I pray every day that I am the best mommy to you," she wrote.
"It was important to us to keep our pregnancy private throughout the whole nine months of it, well in my case six months because I had no idea during the first trimester. Anyways, I felt I was keeping our baby safe by doing so and I would do it the exact same way if I had a redo."
Kim says she couldn’t be happier for the new mom.
“I am so happy for Faith. She has always wanted a family of her own.”
Keeping Faiths pregnancy a secret was easy for Kim.
“She told me as soon as she found out,” she says.
“But I had been suspecting she was pregnant because she was eating a lot. Usually, Faith is on a diet of some sort because she fears gaining weight but in December, she wouldn’t stop eating and I told her that I was suspecting something, and she ignored me.”
Kim says she knows Faith has always wanted a baby and a family of her own and “God blessed her with her wish”.
“Faith has always wanted a baby. If she knew earlier about the pregnancy, she would have stopped drinking immediately. But all is good. We are glad that the baby is healthy, and Faith is so happy with her little family.”
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In season three, Kim lost her brother who had been battling drug addiction and had been fighting to be clean.
"My brother’s death was really hard,” she says.
“As much as he did drugs and left home, he was still my brother and every day I was praying for him to be clean. He wanted to be clean. He wasn’t just an addict to me, but he was my blood, and we shared a serious bond.”
Kim says she misses him and wishes he had a chance to spend time with her child.
“I wish he could have spent time with my baby. For my baby to know what it's like to have an uncle who loves him. But now I have gained an angel.”
Kim says her brother is in a better place now.
“He is happy. I was blaming myself for not being there for him. But I tried my best. I had to accept what God has planned. I miss getting the phone calls asking for R20. I thought that when he finds out that I have a baby, he would stop the drugs and come back home. But all is well. I am taking it one day at a time.”
In this season Kim says people will see “the real Faith Nketsi and not just the beautiful doll”.
“Viewers will all see the sides of Faith and not just the barbie doll. Last season, I had baby daddy issues and this time, things take a turn. The show is juicier, and people can expect a lot more drama.”
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Kim and Faith have been friends for almost 12 years.
They have seen it all. They have fought, shared happy moments, and even have matching tattoos on their back. In season three of Have Faith, Kim showed her life and what it was like to be a new mom to a baby boy.
She expressed how she felt her friends were not there for her during and after her pregnancy while she was going through a breakup with the father of her child and having post-natal depression.
“My friends were not there. They were there financially and phoned me but they were not there. Emotionally I was not okay, I lost my brother a month after my baby was born. I had to arrange the funeral. I had baby daddy issues, we were going through a break-up and I was getting into a new phase in my life and I needed support from friends,” she says.
After her baby was born, Kim says she suffered post-natal depression.
“Even before my baby was born, I was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum – which is when you get severe morning sickness. I had extreme vomiting and low blood pressure, and I lost weight,” she says.
“After having the baby, I suffered post-natal depression, everything was too much for me and my mom says she saw me going through a lot. I needed friends, but they were forcing me to go out, which I didn’t want to do,” she says.
“Being a mom is not easy and she will see for herself. But I plan to be supportive as much as I can.
"Faith has a family of her own and things can’t go back to the way they were. She is now married and needs to respect her husband and in-laws. It's not like those days when we could do anything and go out as we please. Now we have to consider our families and the babies,” Kim says.
