Lenore Goss-Matjies is one of the nine cast members of the Durban-based The Mommy Club: Sugar & Spice.

• Lenore Goss-Matjie is grateful that the show gave her the chance to connect more with her family.
• She reveals that she and castmate Christina Devraj are closer now.
• Lenore hopes to raise awareness for mental health, fibromyalgia and launch her fashion line.

Viewers have been given an all-access look into the lives of fabulous moms in Durban’s Indian community who seem to have it all.

The Mommy Club: Sugar & Spice has rivalled the show’s Johannesburg-based predecessor The Mommy Club where the Durban cast shows off their colourful extended families who help them in running their empires and raising their heirs.

Cast member Lenore Goss-Matjies took the opportunity to be on the show to share her wholesome relationship with her husband and three kids, showcase the joys of balancing motherhood and her fashion ventures all while managing her chronic health condition fibromyalgia.

Plus, a little drama on the reality show is always unavoidable.

But, before we get into the show’s shady side, Lenore let TRUELOVE into how the show gave her the chance to make up for lost time with her children after being in and out of the hospital following a debilitating injury that left her in a wheelchair for two years and her fibromyalgia flare ups.

“I also feel I’ve lost out on so much with my kids years back when I was still trying to figure out what was wrong with me and how to try and live this new normal life that I have with this chronic, debilitating condition.

“For me, it was like God gave me back this time with my kids to do this amazing and go on this amazing journey with them. It definitely has made our bond even tighter. I didn’t know it was possible to even get tighter than what we are. But when I say that those are my people, those are my people,” she gushes.

The 45-year-old businesswoman maintains that with her and her family, “What you see is what you get.”

That sentiment might not have always rung true for viewers watching the difficult conversation between Lenore fellow cast member Christina Devraj.

In the series, Christina made ignorant racial comments about Lenore participating and winning Miss India KwaZulu-Natal due to her mixed heritage background and made ageist remarks calling Lenore “old”.

As of now though, Lenore and Christina have made amends with the former pageant queen calling her a friend after the pair had a touching heart-to-heart on the show where Christina revealed her battle with postpartum depression.

Lenore explains, “She has a very soft and beautiful side to her, which, at first, one didn’t get to see on camera. It’s not that she’s just Christina that just speaks and just says whatever comes out of her mouth. Christina is a lovely human being. And, as I’ve said, no human being is perfect. We all make mistakes.

“I think we all just need to be a little bit more forgiving, a little bit more understanding, a little bit more empathetic. But in terms of her and I, Christina is my friend. She’s my friend, I speak to her daily. I check on her just to say, ‘Howzit girlfriend, how are you doing? How’s your day doing? How’s Jordan?’ I check on Jordan every other day as well, her daughter.”

Lenore has also stayed close with fellow castmates Asharia Parsad, Devina Kowlas and Neetasha Singh Bugwandin.

Outside of the mommy politics on The Mommy Club: Sugar & Spice, Lenore has been active working on expert-led support groups for mental health and chronic conditions awareness and getting back into professional dancing. She is also officially launching her fashion brand Lenore that has been 20 years in the making, which includes doeks, sandals and handbags.

Her line is all about inclusivity and accessibility, as she explains, “The doek has become so important and so special to me and for anybody else that’s going through challenges with either hair loss due to cancer or due to a condition like alopecia or just thinning hair in general.

“This is why I’ve created the doek and why it’s a literally a put on piece But to make it a style element and to own your crown.”

This article was originally published at: https://www.snl24.com/