SONGBIRD Zahara, whose real name is Bulelwa Mkutukana, is once again off the market. The singer confirmed to Move! that her boyfriend Ian Sibiya proposed late last year.
THE PROPOSAL
Even though Zahara is reluctant to talk about her love life, she reveals how he proposed. She says Ian surprised her when he asked for her hand in marriage. “My parents were in Joburg and he called his parents. While we were all sitting together he started talking and asked for my hand in marriage,” she reveals. A smitten Zahara says she agreed to the proposal as it was a pleasant surprise. There were already plans to make things official between the families. “They’re going to my home for lobola negotiations,” she shares. Zahara can barely contain her excitement about the developments in her life. But When Move! bumped into her at the Mahika Mahikeng Festival in the North West, where she was one of the headline acts, she was not wearing an engagement ring. “I wanted to keep it to myself and family until everything is done properly, this is why I am not wearing the ring,” she explained.
ART IMITATING REAL LIFE
In her latest music video for her song, Themba Lam from her album, Mgodi, Zahara gives a glimpse of what she would look like as a bride in a white wedding dress. In the video, she is getting married to Skeem Saam actor, Clement Maosa. She says the song was actually inspired by her real-life bae. “It’s Ian who inspired me to write the song Themba Lam,” she says with a grin. The song is about finding her bae and how he adores her.
HER PREVIOUS ENGAGEMENT DIDN’T END WELL
Zahara has been with Ian for about two years. She revealed him after the break-up with Umhlobo Wenene FM presenter, Amaza Ntshangana. Zahara and Amaza were engaged. She dispelled cheating rumours, but none of them would divulge the reasons behind their split, which caught headlines like wildfire. She did tell Move! that she wasn’t quite happy with Amaza. “I asked myself, am I happy? I found that I wasn’t. Every relationship has its challenges. I will not say he was wrong or I was. Maybe he wasn’t for me or me for him,” she said in an earlier interview.