HER home is on a property roughly the size of six football fields in one of Cape Town's wealthiest suburbs. Her antique furniture is worth a fortune and she refers to herself as the Queen of Constantia.
Yet when we visit her mansion in the leafy southern suburb, there are no armies of staff welcoming us in and serving refreshments. Instead, Camilla McDowell is up and about, offering us sweet treats and drinks herself.
"I've baked a chocolate cake," she says before wandering off to the kitchen to make coffee. Every hair is perfectly in place and her fitted black jumpsuit is pristine. Her gold-coloured heels glisten as she moves and her accessories would make many a jeweller swoon.
Fans of the hit Mzansi Magic show The Real Housewives of Cape Town are fascinated by Camilla and her opulent life. The 54-year-old has topped Twitter trend lists week after week as she shares her posh world with viewers.
She's enjoying all the attention, Camilla tells YOU. "I've been overwhelmed by the positive response. It's become impossible to keep up with the volume of people who tell me they love me and that I make them laugh."
The show follows the personal and professional lives of seven Cape Town women Camilla, Beverley Steyn, Kutazwa “Rooksy Gqirana, Loveline Abinokauno, Lulwando "Lue" Tukwayo, Rushda Moosajee and Thato Montse. Viewers are invited into their worlds and there's more than a fair share of drama as the housewives get into one another's spaces.
Camilla is a fan favourite thanks to -her open and honest approach. She's not shy to show off her fabulous life. “I mean, it's reality," she says. "What are you going to be? Someone that's fake?"
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