Every holiday season, the Mahlangu family gathers at their home and cooks up a feast. This year, they thought they would be spending it apart after their highly publicised separation. But comedian, sangoma and gamer Mongezi Mahlangu and Mome are back together and will be enjoying this festive season as a happy family.

THE SEPARATION

Toll Ass Mo announced earlier this year that he and Mome were headed for a divorce after winning a legal battle against model Lerato Moloi, who accused him of sexual misconduct, which he was cleared of by the court. The two years where the case was ongoing, Mongezi says traumatised him to a point that it affected his marriage. After parting ways with his wife and trying to date, Mongezi has since gone back to his family and working things out with Mome.

TIME HEALS

Mome tells ZiMoja that they are grateful to be reunited as a family and their plan for the festive season is to spend time together as a family without doing any traveling. "Mo is in an out of town with work," she says. "Our plans are mostly to be outdoors in our area. We live in the wilderness with lots of outdoor activities to entertain the kids, which helps with our healing," Mome adds. "Looking back at what we went through this year; some calmness is what our mind body and soul can do with. We have been doing a lot together, doing things we used to before we separated and just spending time with our extended family and close friends." They usually spend Christmas at their home and invite their close family members and cook up a storm. "It's like a yearly catch-up session," Mome says. "This Christmas we are doing the same tradition...we start cooking from the night of Christmas Eve, the old school way and we watch the Christmas movies the night before, some family members stay over and we have a good time. This time of the year for us just means family time, downtime and visiting our family members."

IN SICKNESS AND HEALTH

Although their short-lived separation was challenging, Mome knew they would be back together. She says their motivation for choosing to "fix things" was due to their love for each other. "Love was the motivation. We just never stopped loving each other even through our disagreements, we still spoke every day or WhatsApped one another. After 11 years of marriage, I guess that was our 'sickness and health' storm," she adds.

COUPLES THERAPY

As a couple, Mome and Mongezi say their focus is to protect their mental health. "To find a balance in ourselves spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally because 2020 was the most traumatic year for us as a family but we made it through thick and thin," Mome says. "We will get through this, with the support of our family and close friends and prayers. We are in a much better place. Everything has strengthened our love for the greater, we appreciate each other more. We are more connected and more loving to each other." With a few projects that they have paused this year due to Toll Ass Mo's wellness journey, they hope to resume in the coming year. "We are resuming in 2024 and the goal is to be happy, healthy, wealthy and continue to focus on maintaining good mental wellness."