They had a love story that inspired many. A couple that not only loved each other privately and publicly, but built an empire together.
Connie and Shona Ferguson met on 31 July, 2001 and were married by the end of the year. They would have celebrated their 20th anniversary this November.
Shona died on Friday, 30 July from Covid-19 complications.
The couple were never shy to express their love for each other.
‘‘It was love at first sight,’’ the beautiful actress told Drum in an interview in 2014. They met through mutual friends and she was ‘‘intrigued’’ by this man with the tattoos, contagious laugh and zest for life. Shona was smitten from the word go too. ‘‘I knew who she was but I tried to play it cool,’’ he says. It was no good though – the very next day he tracked down Connie’s sister and got her number. ‘‘We discovered we had so much in common," Connie said.
Connie says. ‘‘We started chatting about Botswana – he’s from there and I’ve spent time with my family there too – and discovered we have mutual friends.’’ The pair had a whirlwind courtship and married just four months later. ‘‘We haven’t looked back,’’ she adds.
Read more | Connie and Shona Ferguson's love story
On their 10th anniversary in 2001, they renewed their vows and this is what they told Drum.
Connie paid tribute to the love of her life on Saturday.
"This day, 20 years ago (31 July 2001), was the day God brought you into my life, and we haven’t looked back since! Ours is a once in a lifetime kind of love. We joked about how we were going to be in our old age. How we would take turns supporting each other and being strong for each other. The irony is we have already been doing that for the past 20 years!
"Oh how God has loved me to give me YOU! We were already planning our 20th wedding anniversary in November, assuming that we had time! You and I were joined at the hip, now I feel completely off balance, incomplete, without my other half! My SOULMATE!," she posted.
Here are pictures from their day.
