- Married at First Sight South Africa Season 2 participant Portia Baloyi discussed her first marriage during a segment on The Relebogile Mabotja Podcast
- She expressed positive sentiments about her former husband and shared insights into the reasons for her divorce
- Some users on social media commended her openness, while others accused her of embellishing her past experiences
Married at First Sight Mzansi star Portia Baloyi has shared insights about her experiences that culminated in her divorce.
While Portia had previously discussed her separation from co-star Bongani Luvalo in earlier interviews, details about her initial marriage remained largely undisclosed. Following the conclusion of Season 2 of the reality series, she joined her fellow contestants on The Relebogile Mabotja Podcast to discuss various topics, including her first marriage.
Portia Baloyi outlines reasons for her divorce
On Thursday, 23 October 2025, The Relebogile Mabotja Podcast released a clip from Portia Baloyi’s conversation on X. In this excerpt, she spoke warmly of her ex-husband, who is 12 years her senior.
“OK? Uh, he was a protector. Yeah. You know. I hope I don’t say his name when I’m talking about him. I met this guy older than me, 12 years older than me. And, you know, when a person does everything and anything, right? Look at this man, you know I’m a baby around him. You’re like, you know, OK, baby, you know, and I’m thinking, oh, OK, not bad, you know, not bad,” she said.
When asked about the dissolution of her first marriage, Baloyi stressed that she was not prepared to take on the responsibilities of being a wife or stepmother at the age of 21. The rapid shift in her life was daunting.
“But at the time when I met him, I wasn’t ready to be a wife. I wasn’t ready to be a mother. And just like that, I was an instant mother. Instant wife. So instant, you can’t go out. Instant, you can’t wear that. It’s like, so everything just changed. And I was like, but I’m only 21. I was a baby. So it’s like, this is too much room. I still want to go out. I still want to groove. So that wife that he wanted, then it’s this person now. Then I wasn’t that person,” she explained.
View the video here:
Public reactions to Portia Baloyi’s revelations
In response to her statements, some users on social media praised Baloyi for her candidness, while others questioned her portrayal of her past.
Selected comments include:
@__Nakabini expressed appreciation:
“I know Portia mentioned she’s very private, so please thank her for sharing herself with us. 🥺🫶🏾”
@Scarcity34 criticized:
“Portia got married in 2016, lobola (Sept) and the white wedding (Nov). She must stop the married at 21 story. She is no child bride, and she had a well-developed frontal cortex when she got married. She knew what she was doing. Like she knows that she is lying.”
@Fanzo12974034 inquired:
“So they all brought their past traumas to the show?”
