“THE Real Housewives of Johannesburg” (RHOJ) star Lethabo “Lejoy” Mathatho believes that her appearance on the reality show’s Caribbean spin-off will give her the chance to reintroduce herself.
The businesswoman and award-winning radio personality is set to appear on “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip – South Africa” later this year.
The Showmax Original series spin-off will see iconic cast members from several of “The Real Housewives” shows bonding on an unforgettable Jamaican adventure.
Apart from Mathatho, the cast includes Nonkanyiso “LaConco” Conco from “The Real Housewives of Durban” (seasons 1 and 2), “The Real Housewives of Durban” S2’s Londie London and Christall Kay from “The Real Housewives of Johannesburg” (S1 and S2).
Liz Prins from “The Real Housewives of Gqeberha”, Melany Viljoen from “The Real Housewives of Pretoria” and Nonku Williams from “The Real Housewives of Durban” “S1 to S4” are also set to feature on the reality show.
Mathatho, who appeared on season two and three of the Joburg version of the show, is thrilled to be part of the spin-off, which airs during the first half of this year.
“I have grown a lot since I was last on the show and now people will get to see a calmer and more fun side to me,” she told “Independent Media Lifestyle”.
“On ‘The Real Housewives of Johannesburg’, my bold and fearless side came out but I am a multifaceted woman with lots of layers, and I often think of myself as a coin. I am heads or tails, depending on which side you bring out of me, and I certainly don't lose my worth,” she added.
“For this show, I got the chance to rewrite my story and I was able to relax and form genuine connections with the ladies.”
And while she had her fair share of drama while appearing on RHOJ, she explained that the dynamics of the island spin-off is completely different because the women were “taken out of their comfort zones”.
“It was a much more enjoyable experience being on this show because I met many of them for the first time on the trip and it was as pure as it gets because we all got to experience each other for who we really are.
“We are all from different provinces and we all left our lives behind to go on this trip together, and this change in environment allowed us to connect with each other in a special way.”
Despite the show’s relaxed nature, Mathatho said that there was still a lot of chaos among the women in the Caribbean.
“Without giving too much away, there will be drama from the first episode up until the last episode, but this will happen when you put a group of strong women together.”
“People were very real and emotional during the trip, and many things that happened on each of the franchises were addressed, including things that happened to me.
“We really got to know each other on a personal level, and not just make assumptions based on what we’ve seen on the different shows.”
Mathatho said she formed a particularly strong bond with Prins.
“I got along very well with Liz and many of the other ladies and we formed beautiful connections,” she said.
“We spoke about many important things and many of them even made us cry. I formed many new friendships during this experience and I am still friends with many of them up until today.”
Mathatho added: “One of the main reasons why I decided to be part of this show is because I wasn't able to properly give my side of the story about what happened on ‘The Real Housewives of Johannesburg’ and God works in mysterious ways, so I finally got my chance to address it.”
On how she handled the backlash from her time on RHOJ, Mathatho said: “All I did was focus on my own life because I can't control what other people think or do.”
And apart from seeing fan favourites coming together during a tropical getaway, she also believes that viewers will be able to see themselves in each of the ladies in the spin-off.
“People should watch the show because there is something that they will be able to relate to.”