Wedding bells for Maphala

Standard People
Former Miss Zimbabwe Lorraine Tsoanelo Maphala will on Saturday tie the knot with her fiancé, businessman Sonny Phiri, at a Bulawayo hotel.

Former Miss Zimbabwe Lorraine Tsoanelo Maphala will on Saturday tie the knot with her fiancé, businessman Sonny Phiri, at a Bulawayo hotel.

BY MELISSA MPOFU

Maphala confirmed to Standardlife&-style she will officially tie the knot to the Nissi Finance boss on November 9. The couple, which customarily married in 2011, has already sent out invitations to guests.

Popular musician Sandra Ndebele and former Miss Bulawayo, Sibusisiwe Dube will be part of the bridal party.

The Bulawayo beauty, who met Phiri in 2008, said she believed she had found true love in the businessman, who is the father of her two children, Dineo Maddie and Ethan.

“Relationships came and went but most of them were never meant to be until I met the person I would spend the rest of my life with and we started all over,” she said.

She met Phiri after having travelled to South Africa on business. The two fashion pundits exchanged numbers, became friends and later courted.

Maphala said she loved Phiri because they were best friends who were open with each other, something that has strengthened their union. “I love the fact that Sonny and I are best friends. We are comfortable with each other as I can be silly around him and we can laugh about it,” she said.

The beauty queen, who rose to fame after clinching the then coveted Miss Zimbabwe title in 2004, went on to represent the country at the Miss World pageant but did not fare well.

Maphala gave credit to Miss Zimbabwe patron Kiki Divaris for grooming her as a super-model and chaperoning her.

Like all models, during her reign the Bulawayo-based beauty was a sought-after girl in the country with men offering her all sorts of gifts just to lure her.

“During my reign as Miss Zimbabwe, I did get offers from men who wanted to date me but I knew what I wanted in life. I dealt with the temptations and waited patiently for my Mr Right to come along,” said the beauty queen.

On the other hand, Phiri said he loved Maphala because she was not materialistic like most models.

“I love Lorraine because she looks at life differently. She is not one who is after money, but one who is after a person’s character. She loved the down-to-earth attitude I portrayed to her when we dated,” he said.

Asked about how he dealt with the pressure of marrying a beauty queen, Phiri said he loved the challenge.

“With me, I love being challenged when other men look at and admire my wife. I feel bigger and better because it shows I have something worth admiring and something to show off.”

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