LOVE YOUR TRIBE

TV presenter Leanne Manas is looking forward to a festive season filled with good food, fun times and family

- NOKUTHULA ZWANE-EJIKE 

SHE'S only just managed to put up her Christmas tree and it twinkles away merrily in her living room - a tangible, tantalising sign that the year is almost over and she can soon kick off her shoes and enjoy some downtime.

Because, as usual, it's been a hectic year for Leanne Manas. She's on TV every day for Morning Live, she's a dedicated United Nations goodwill ambassador who travels regularly on missions, and she's a mom of two growing kids.

But the Leanne who welcomes us into her stylish home in Northcliff, Johannesburg, is relaxed, friendly, and as down-to-earth as ever.

She's always been a no-frills, no-fuss kind of person and she's dressed casually in jeans and sandals as she shows us around her house with African art adorning the walls and airy open-plan spaces overlooking a lush garden.

Somehow we'd expected her to be a little more dressed up - she had, after all, recently been named most stylish media personality of the year at the 2022 South African Style Awards. But not a chance Leanne at home is as laid-back as they come, and she admits she was stunned when she heard she'd won the award. "I was like, 'Are you kidding me? Do you mean I'm receiving it?"

She was indeed - and she was delighted. "It's such a lovely thing, Leanne says. "Style isn't something I ever think of or aspire to because what you see is me. My style is to complement myself.

Yet she does admit she loves clothes and her wardrobe is bursting at the seams.

"My husband deserves credit for putting up with me and the number of clothes I have," she says.

LEANNE shares her home with husband Marc Menelaou, who's working for Sanlam specialised finance, their kids, Alexandro (13) and Gabriella (10), and Vesper and Mira, the devoted labra-doodles that barely leave her side.