They've recently celebrated their second wedding anniversary. They've spent most of their time as a married couple in lockdown and their lives have gone back to normal, or as normal as they can get after what the lovebirds experienced.
They won Mzansi's hearts after Hector Mkansi proposed to Nonhlanhla at a fast food restaurant. It wasn't long before offers were pouring in to help them have the wedding of their lives. And they did.
A day later, all was quiet again, like it never happened.
They were swept up in the excitement of everything, they tell Drum just two years after they got married. They say they thought their lives would change.
"We think some of the people were just riding the wave and wanted to be part of the whole Twitter trend. Yes, we thought our lives would be way different but we went back to our RDP house in the Vaal. The amount that we got in total was R150 000 and that amount came in bits and pieces but we managed to fix out RDP house and security for us to be safe since people think we have money," Nonhlanhla says.
They are still in awe of everything that South Africans did for them on their special day. From big and small companies to celebrities. It was the best wedding they never thought they would have, they say.
They had planned to have a small intimate wedding with their family and friends, but Mzansi said bigger, so they ended up having the most beautiful wedding at Thaba Eco Hotel on 31 December 2019.
They still remember the day that was planned by Precious The Planner, with Hector dressed in suits supplied by Black Coffee.
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"On the first of January 2020 it was so quiet, it didn't seem like we were the couple that everyone invited to TV and radio interviews."
People around them thought they had money and for a while, they felt too exposed and in some sort of danger. But they will always be grateful
"We have no words to express how grateful we are, and we thank everyone who honoured their pledges. We got some of the things that we were offered but not all of them and when we tried to reach out to the people, they were so rude and some thought we were scammers because initially, they were not in contact with us," Nonhlanhla says.
There were reports that the couple's marriage was a bit shaky, but both Hector and Nonhlanhla say they are going strong and enjoying their marriage. And they have been painted as an entitled couple but that doesn't affect their marriage.
"We are doing this thing for life, I am unemployed but I was going to make a plan to give my wife the life that she deserves. We also want to let everyone know that we are thankful for everything and appreciate it," says Hector.
Some of the gifts are still rolling in, but with conditions now. They were promised a trip to Mozambique, but since Covid-19 hit traveling businesses took a hit, and now they have to pay for some of the itineraries.
"We wanted to go to Mozambique but with our current situation, it doesn't seem possible."
