‘It’s been 16 years and we’re still going strong’ – Vusi Nova on Somizi

In recent months, all eyes have been on celebrity couple Somizi and Mohale Mhlongo-Motaung and those closest to them as rumours of infidelity continue to rock their marriage.

Among the many unfounded rumours shared about the pair in recent months is one that Somizi may be closer to his friend, Vusi Nova, than it seems.

Though both parties have denied any  romantic relationship between them, the rumours persist.

Vusi Nova (Vusimuzi Nongxa) recently addressed the rumours once again in a recent interview with Jon Savage on the “What’s Your Poison” podcast.

“I have known Somizi for 16 years. I met him before I even got into the music industry. He’s so real and supportive,” explained Vusi.

“Somizi is one of those genuine people that believes that if you have a dream, no matter how big, you can work towards it and achieve it. His success has been the motivation for me to believe this is possible. Somizi is living proof that reaching your dreams is possible,” he added.

According to Vusi, it is not often you find someone you are able to trust with your life and when you do find someone like this, it’s important to nurture that relationship.

“People out there are saying we are dating but we’re not. We have mutual respect for each other and we trust each other a lot. With us, it’s realness all the way. It’s been 16 years now and we’re still going strong.”

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The singer – who recently released his highly-anticipated new album “NguMama” – also spoke to Savage about where his love for music began, his relationship with his mother and grandmother and his drug addiction.

According to Nova, his passion for music began when he moved to Johannesburg from Port Elizabeth at 14 to live with his mother.

“My mom had me when she was 18 so my grandmother told her ‘You don’t have a kid. You are going to go to school and finish your studies. This is my kid’. Once she finished her studies, she got a job in Johannesburg. She found a place, got a car and got a comfortable space and eventually told my grandmother ‘You have done a fantastic job raising this child. I am now in a position where I can take over’. Then I moved to Johannesburg to live with my mother.”

Unfortunately, this is when his drug addiction started to take hold.

“It started with a joint here and there before moving to 20 joints a day and then I went onto Mandrax, crack cocaine, ecstasy and more. I went all the way. I got really addicted to crack cocaine and it went on for years,” said Vusi before explaining it worsened years later when his mother died.

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“I was still doing drugs when my mom passed away. I was 21 at the time and it was then when things got really bad. My mom left me a [lot] of cash when she passed and, as my way of grieving, I spent all of that money.”

For years, he kept both his drug addiction and the reason for his mother’s passing a secret.

“My mother was HIV positive and, for the longest time, I was telling people that she had cancer because I was afraid of how people would label her. That shame made my drug use even more extreme.”

He has since cleaned up his act and managed to stay sober for years and as such, he feels as though he can finally give his mother the honour she deserves.

He plans to do this while sharing all of the lessons she had taught him in the album that he has dedicated to her.

Watch the full interview here:

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