EVERY appliance in the kitchen is perfectly positioned and there isn’t a cushion out of place on the couch.
She’s a stickler for neatness, Denise Zimba admits as she welcomes us into the stylish apartment she shares with her husband and one-year-old daughter in Vredehoek, Cape Town.
Even the toys in the baby’s play area are in what she calls an organised mess.
This is her happy place – the place she spends with her loved ones, far from the public eye.
Denise may have made a name for herself as the champagne-swilling party queen on The Wedding Bashers but being a mom brings her the greatest joy.
Her daughter, Leah Lilli-Rose Schlichtig – or Dookie as she’s nicknamed her – clambers onto her mom’s lap for a cuddle.
Denise looks as if she’s settled into her new role as parent with aplomb – but the outspoken TV personality is the first to admit it’s not as effortless as it looks.
“It’s hard to juggle being a career woman and stay-at-home mom,” she says.
She’d never manage raising a baby and work without the help of her husband and their nanny.
“She was there for me from the day Leah was born,” Denise (31) says. “It really does take a village.”
Having stepped out of the spotlight to welcome her bundle of joy, she recently started dropping hints on social media that she’s ready to return to showbiz. Although she won many fans as the tipple-loving judge on M-Net’s popular wedding show, she got her big break in 2013 as a singer in the girl-group Fly Chix and released her debut album two years ago.
Now she’s making new music.
This story is from the 24 September 2020 edition of YOU South Africa.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the 24 September 2020 edition of YOU South Africa.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
HOW TO BE YOUR OWN THERAPIST
With more and more of us struggling with our mental health, here's a common-sense guide to coping with life's ups and downs
SPUD: THE MAGIC CONTINUES
John van de Ruit tells us why he decided to write a sequel - and shares how his first book helped him find enduring love
SEX CONTRACT GONE WRONG
A Cape Town couple have been charged with using a young woman as a sex slave-but some say she lost the job she signed up for and now has a grudge against them
LIAM LAID TO REST
More than a month after One Direction singer LIAM PAYNE (31) tragically fell to his death from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, his loved ones finally got to say their goodbyes.
SHILOH HANGS OUT
THE two young women look like any pair of good friends chatting and laughing as they leave their dance class in Los Angeles.
LEO IN LOVE
He's just turned 50 and it seems Leonardo DiCaprio may finally be ready to settle down
PACKING A PUNCH
Irish actor Paul Mescal beefed up for his role in the blockbuster epic Gladiator II - and fans are loving it
I DIDN'T CHOOSE TO BE A LOVE CHILD
As the illegitimate daughter of the king, she fought to be recognised as part of Belgium's royal family, but Princess Delphine says she still feels unwelcome
'I STILL HAVE NIGHTMARES'
A bite from a spitting cobra 13 years ago nearly killed her but Mikayla survived - and she's made peace with her scars
THE CLAWS ARE OUT!
Things have grown frosty between the Beckhams and the Sussexes as Becks comes out in clear support of William
