Lerato Sengadi and Gogo Skhotheni in a scene during Showmax Original reality show, ‘Widows Unveiled’. Picture: Supplied
The 10-part reality series follows the lives of five women who were married to public figures and prominent businessmen.
The series documents the journey of each woman from pain to triumph as they navigate the drama and scandal that followed the deaths of their husbands.
“I’m excited for people to see that being a widow is not a disease,” Sengadi tells IOL Entertainment. “It's a real thing that at some point, many will go through. I hope it changes people’s lives.”
Sengadi decided to be a part of the show to share the realities of being a widow, not the labels society has given it. Sengadi also wants to show that it is okay for other widows to support each other without it being labelled as taboo.
“When women support each other through things that are difficult it is labelled as something that is wrong, bad or condescending. There is nothing wrong with supporting someone who is on a journey similar to yours.
“There are certain things that you understand that go without saying, there’s certain ways that you know that they need support and in situations that you don’t relate to, you can show up in a manner that is supportive.
“There’s no such thing as collective trauma, I find that very unnecessary and sad that people are so used to not showing up for each other that when you do it’s labelled in a negative way.”
On the reality show during a retreat the widows go on, medium Gogo Skhotheni, real name Tumi Motsoeneng, is brought on to help the widows connect with their husbands. While the widows attend the reading/consultation in their diary sessions, they share their doubts over the “Gogo of the Gram.”
In her diary, Sengadi shared that, as someone who is spiritually unlocked, she didn't get the vibrations from Gogo Skhotheni or the traditional healer energy but explained that in the realm of the spiritual world, she is Skhotheni’s elder.
“The thing is, a reading is personal, I don't expect anyone to relate to what my reading was. In that moment that’s my reading and that’s how I felt,” she tells IOL Entertainment.
“The way I live my life is that I’m polite. I wouldn't say anything rude to her and even in my diary session I’m being 100% honest, we didn't connect spiritually at the reading and that’s okay because maybe the setting wasn’t the right one.
Sengadi emphasises that a reading is a personal thing and maybe the vibrations could have been different had it been a one on one thing with no cameras around. “I do not in any shape or manner ridicule or look down on her.”
Sengadi explains that she enjoyed her time interacting with the other widows, learning about them and their journeys, getting them to have tequila shots. She even connected and bonded with Mpho Tshabalala - the wife of award-winning South African musicians Mduduzi “Mandoza” Tshabalala.
‘Widows Unveiled’ is now streaming on Showmax.
IOL Entertainment