Pearl of Wisdom

Pearl Modiadie, who’s back with a new show, tells us how she found herself again after her engagement ended.

- Molife Kumona

A BROKEN heart is hard enough − sharing it with the rest of the country must be almost unbea­rable. Yet when you’re in the public eye your private life is hard to hide, and the moment eagle­eyed fans noticed Pearl Modiadie wasn’t wearing her engagement ring the rumour mill leapt into action.

Had the beautiful TV and radio host split from her husband­to­be, KwaZulu­ Natal businessman Nkululeko Buthelezi?

She must have, they concluded. Pearl had never been shy to show off her rock on social media and it was common knowledge she’d commissioned hotshot designer David Tlale to create both her traditional and white wedding dresses.

She’d even showed her traditional outfit to viewers on Top Billing and spoken about her upcoming nuptials in a glossy women’s magazine.

But her fans were right: it was all over. The 29­year­old confirmed the split on her Metro FM show, The Great Escape, then clammed up about it – until now.

In an exclusive interview, she tells us about the heartache she suffered after it all fell apart and how she picked herself up again.

“It was hard,” Pearl admits. “But I learnt that no matter how tough things get you must allow yourself to feel everything you’re feeling when you’re at home. As soon as you need to go to work, you put on your best smile, look great and deliver.

“Learning to separate situations helped me,” she continues. “I dealt with work when I needed to, and I dealt with my emotions at home. It’s all been a process. It’s about allowing yourself to accept the situation for what it is and learning what­ ever you can from it.”

PEARL took to social media when Nkululeko proposed to her on holiday in Zambia in December 2015, and her hap­piness and excitement was obvious to everyone.