The South African drama series, The Wife, based on a novel, Hlomu, features some of the best casts from South Africa. The main protagonist of the series, Bonko Khoza, who gained much popularity for his protagonist role in the series, worked at his best for the first two seasons. The show was nominated for several awards as a result of its widespread popularity.
The character who had many dark secrets—the show’s taxi driver, Mqhele, played by Bonko Khoza—became the one whose fan base had suddenly grown significantly, and his admirers began swooning over him.
However, currently, Bonko Khoza’s decision to leave the show has broken the hearts of many of his fans, and everyone started wondering what led him to leave The Wife. When Bonko himself revealed the reasons for his leaving the show, it shocked all of his fans.
The Wife – South African Drama Series: All you need to know
The Wife, the telenovela, will take you to the world of eight brothers and their wives. Portrayed from the perspective of those wives, ‘The Wife’ talks about each of the brothers who has a dark hidden secret that their wives do not know about. Discovering more about the husbands, wives always find themselves in big shocks.
The same story and inspiration that served as the basis for the entire show are also depicted in one of Dudu Busani’s best-selling books, Hlomu. Mbalenhele Mavimbela and Mqhele, the show’s leads, fall in love with one another. Mbalenhele Mavimbela, who is so in love with Mqhele, decides to wed him without even knowing his devilish secrets. As a result, she becomes a member of the criminal family, and their secrets become her secrets.
Since it was first released, The Wife has become very well-liked, and even Dudu Busani Dube, the author of the book, gave her comment on the program. She confidently asserted that “viewers are going to enjoy it” despite the fact that “the series is going to be a lot more different than the novel.”
The Wife’s creators did an excellent job of portraying the life of a criminal family through the eyes of the wives, even as the task of adapting a novel to television is becoming more difficult because it falls on the show’s creator to maintain the authenticity of the book as it is, which will never displease book fans.
The Wife follows the storyline of all the book series that Author Dudu Busani Dube published, and all of these books follow the story of the Zulu brothers involved in criminal activities. Apparently, for the second season, the story second novel of the series, named, Zandile the Resolute, was depicted. The Wife is currently on its third season, and all of these seasons will take you to the life of eight such Zulu brothers with hidden secrets and their wives.
When released, the Wife, the only South African series, was the topic of discussion over social media, and fans were so into the drama that they couldn’t wait for the next episode to release. Like this, the first two seasons earned popularity and a huge fanbase.
However, fans are not much looking forward to the third season of the show because it is not going to feature one of the well-known casts of the show, Bonko Khoza. As every one of his fans got curious about the reason why Bonko Khoza had to leave the show, fans discovered what it has been like for Bonko working in The Wife.
Why Bonko Khoza left The Wife?
Bonko Khoza’s exit from The Wife is not something easy that his fans are enduring now. Bonko Khoza was the most romantic character in the show, who loved his Wife a lot, and his romantic gestures always gave his fans butterflies on the blooming flowers. Fans were considering him the best fit for Mqhele’s role, and they were also not ready to see someone else in his place.
Unfortunately, Bonko Khoza made his decision, and his fans had no option than accepting the same. As fans cared about him a lot, Bonko Khoza’s mental health became the reason for his exit from the show, and his fans started sending him support and best wishes. On Tik Tok, when Bonko came live, he talked about how The Wife was giving him anxiety and depression.
He said, “The Wife gave me a lot of anxieties…bruv”. He also mentioned that he was planning to take some time off when production went off for some time. Although he did not mention any details about his anxiety and depression, mental health issues can happen because of any reason, and the good thing is, he tried to solve his problem and bravely took the decision to leave The Wife.
As everyone knows, his decision to leave the show will impact him and the show’s fame a lot, and it all depends on the makers and how they will depict Bonko Khoza’s replaced character in the most realistic manner.
Even though it is saddening to know that Bonko Khoza will not appear in season 3 of The Wife, Bonko seemed so happy to know that another talented actor will take his place. He wished everyone luck who is in season 3 and also mentioned that he will watch the whole season seeing his brothers in the show spending romantic time full of thrillers with their wives.
As Bonko Khoza’s fans were also sad about his exit from the show, Bonko Khoza positively asked everyone to love the new Mqhele as much as they loved Bonko Khoza’s character as Mqhele. An actor with a big heart who want everything to be normal and happy even after his exit, Bonko Khoza deserves good mental health so that he comes back for everyone on screen for his fans again.
As of now, Bonko Khoza seems to enjoy his break time, and we hope that his mental health will improve while he is on break so that he can come back again with fresh movies or series to entice his millions of fans worldwide. Season three of The Wife has already been released, and three episodes were aired on Showmax.
Even after Bonko’s exit, the show has followed an intriguing storyline, this time also providing viewers with the best series experience they could ever get in life. The Wife has also found a good replacement for Mqhele’s role, and fans are eager to see how this cast will take over Bonko’s role and portray Mqhele Zulu in the best way possible.
Who has taken Bonko Khoza’s place in The Wife?
Mqhele, since season 1, is the most important character of The Wife, and Bonko Khoza has played it so seamlessly that viewers fell in love with Mqhele more than Bonko Khoza. So, till the end of The Wife series, it was expected that Bonko Khoza would remain in the show enticing his fans worldwide.
Unfortunately, he left the show, and while it may have been challenging to find a perfect replacement for him, the show’s creators were able to find the ideal cast to take Bonko Khoza’s place. Wiseman Mncube is the new Mqhele in our favorite telenovela. In South Africa, Wiseman Mncube is another well-known actor who has garnered numerous honors.
Even though Bonko Khoza is very pleased to see Wiseman Mncube in his role as Mqhele in The Wife, some of Bonko’s fans do not appear to be pleased. Fans must have found it difficult to accept someone else as Mqhele because they were so devoted to Bonko Khoza’s portrayal of the character. Everyone does agree that Wiseman Mncube will portray Mqhele in the same manner as Bonko Khoza did, though.
The Wife, which has already aired its first three episodes, is set to surprise viewers with intriguing plot twists. Even after Bonko left, the show continued to win over fans and become well-known all over the world. Right now, Bonko Khoza’s mental health is what is most important, and it is known that he will continue to watch the show and offer advice from behind the camera.
There is no chance that The Wife will lose its authenticity, even when it comes to Mqhele’s role. Since Bonko Khoza has also wished the new Mqhele luck, we should do the same and support him all the way to the end of the show.
