Swazi Observer

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SANDS,TIITEE ‘BREAK UP’

By Nokwanda Sibandze | 2020-02-14

THE entire country came to a standstill when singer Sands and personality Todvwa ‘TiiteeMcBubbles’ Gwebu announced their engagement and love story on social media.

When the #mylovestory campaign started, Sands ‘proposed’ to Todvwa to market the competition.

While some people had no idea if the two were together or not, they both played it well, taking pictures together and posting each other on their social media pages.

The two, however, admitted yesterday that they were not together.

Sands said this was the most difficult thing he has ever done.

“Faking a relation is not easy. I have, however, learnt a lot from this entire journey and I must say it ended beautifully for the couples,” he said.

The singer said it proved to him that he was an eligible bachelor after seeing how people reacted to the news.

“I understand now the power of marketing. With just a small story, the country went into frenzy and it was really amazing to watch,” he added.

Tiitee, on the other, hand said the campaign made her realise that people have love.

“With all the stories we received for the campaign, it was amazing to see how people enjoy being in love. With the ‘relationship’ I had with Sands as well, people reacted differently but what touched me the most were the people who congratulated us and supported us even though we knew it was not real,” she said.

However, the two admitted that some people were not happy about the relationship as some went as far as trying to separate them.

“It was sad to hear the negative comments about us, but we realised that more people were positive about it so we focused on that,” she said.

Tiitee said the hardest part about pretending to be in the relationship was that it was public and people expected them to be together all the time.

“We had fun though and of course Tiitee made it easy because she is a bubbly person. Travelling the country seeing the beautiful places while just promoting love was definitely one of the highlights of the journey,” said Sands.

‘Next year,same time, same place’

HAPPY Valley Marketing Coordinator Noxolo Nkabinde said they were happy about the campaign and would be gladly bringing it back next year with bigger prizes.

The competition also gave the top four couples prizes. Second prize winners Lwazi and Phiwinhlanhla Magagula took home a weekend getaway sponsored by Sibebe Resort.

Third prize winners Darien Dlamini and Phetsile Nzuza walked away with a Valentine’s dinner for two sponsored by the George Hotel and Movie Zone tickets.

While fourth prize winners Sakhelo Nkambule and Noslindelo took home a dinner for two at the hotel. The couples said they were happy to be part of this journey. Nominated couple the Magagulas, said they did not realise they inspired many people with their love story.

“Being a young couple, we never thought we would inspire people, but we were, nominated by one of our friends. We are shocked, but happy to have won something and we will continue to inspire more couples,” she said.

Minister Moses Vilakati applauded the efforts made by the team and all the partners of the campaign.

“This campaign was set against a backdrop of strength. I also extend His Majesty’s government’s heartfelt gratitude to all our sponsors. I am convinced that you will continue to sponsor other initiatives for years to come,” said Vilakati.

Ndlandla couple gets second honeymoon

AFTER winning the #mylovestory competition, Sicelo and Smilwesinhle Ndlandla cannot wait for their second honeymoon.

The couple have been married for 13 months and said they were grateful for a second honeymoon they never thought they would receive.

The young couple walked away with a two nights luxury accommodation, dinner as well as bed and breakfast sponsored by Happy Valley Hotel; return flight tickets from King Mswati III International Airport to JHB International Airport sponsored by Eswatini Airlink; half day spa treatment at Camelot Spa; two cell phones (Samsung A50) by MTN Eswatini; and lunch sponsored by Royal Swazi SPA.

After the winners were announced, the couple had a chance to take pictures with Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs Moses Vilakati and representatives from sponsors companies.

“We are grateful to everyone who took their time to vote for us,” said Smilwesinhle.

They said joining the campaign helped them work together as a team.

“I think it boosted and encouraged us to post most of the things that we do. Above everything we learnt that it does not call for much to inspire the next person. What we considered as nothing inspired a lot of people and we are grateful for that,” she said.

They said as winners of the competition, they also took time to read stories from other couples and they were also inspired.

Sicelo said what made winning the first prize special was that they were the first couple to win a campaign of this sort.

“I wish we could utilize the prizes at the same time because we value all the prizes. We cannot wait to experience everything and we are truly grateful to everyone who voted for us because we would not have been able to win without them,” he said.

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