kykNET has revealed the cast for South African-based The Real Housewives of the Winelands, referred to locally as Die Real Housewives Van Die Wynlande.
Amy Kleinhans-Curd, Mariska Thorpe, Karen Schwendtke, Candice Bester, Michelle van Zyl, and Anita Lloyd are your official Season 1 cast members and will “open the doors of their luxurious houses, hearts, and lives to viewers,” according to a report from News 24.
“Tune in to see how these six unique, fascinating, and dynamic housewives start businesses, dress for success, zip around in style, follow strict beauty routines and balance it all with their demanding personal lives. They also share their stumbling blocks, disappointments, and victories in between all the fun and hilarious moments,” kykNET said of the official Real Housewives Van Die Wynlande cast in an official statement.
Meet the Housewives
Amy Kleinhans-Curd
The former Miss South Africa is married to New Zealand businessman Leighton Curd. Amy is a mother of four and lives in Franschhoek. She is the director of various companies, including the homework hotline, Dial-A-Teacher, founded in 2000 in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Fund. Their farms in Franschhoek, Swellendam and the Cradle of Humankind are but a few of the things that keep Amy very busy indeed. She will soon launch her own Cap Classique sparkling wine and a skincare range called Amelia (her birthname). She is a committed mom and organises a swimming festival, among other things, for the school her children attend.
Mariska Thorpe
Mariska, who worked as a wealth manager for many years, lives with her husband, Quintus, and their daughter, Ocean, in the same estate in Franschhoek as Amy and her family. Mariska does not like to sit still. She and Quintus are stock traders, but she also runs a business that upcycles second-hand clothes. Mariska and her husband are avid trail runners, and she is a perfectionist in everything she does.
Karen Schwendtke
Karen lives in the Val de Vie Estate between Paarl and Franschhoek. She is a successful businesswoman with a degree in BCom Accounting from UP, an MBL from Unisa and a degree in Visual Basic Programming from Harvard in America. Despite long working hours, she always makes time for charity projects. In times of national need, she helped with the supply of water and cattle feed. Children are dear to her heart, and she is involved with fundraising for CHOC (Childhood Cancer Foundation SA). She is the proud mother of two daughters, Saskia and Arabella.
Candice Bester
Candice lives in the Aan de Weber Estate in Stellenbosch. She is the mother of Emma and is married to Werner. Candice is an experienced professional singer, but she left the stage for the corporate world, where she made her mark as marketing manager of Quench, which was acquired by the TFG group. Candice, however, still dreams of a future as a songbird. She likes to play golf, has a big collection of whiskies, and facilitates a monthly quiz night. Candice and Werner are in the process of opening a restaurant.
Michelle van Zyl
Michelle is a medical doctor. She specialised in trauma and later had a successful general medical practice. Nowadays, she is an aesthetic doctor who focuses on treatments like Botox. She and her husband, Dr André Olivier, live in the Boskloof Eco Estate in Somerset West. They are the parents of Hanno and Heidi. André also has two sons from a previous marriage who live in Namibia. Michelle enjoys hosting and dreams of having her own TV talk show.
Anita Lloyd
Anita lives outside Paarl in a beautiful valley. She and her husband, Boyce, are high school sweethearts, and she gave up her profession as teacher to support him in his career. For ten years, they lived across the world for Boyce’s work before finally returning to South Africa. Boyce has been the chief executive of KWV since 2016. Anita has a master’s degree in linguistics, and she loves the study of languages. Besides her husband and her cats, Anita’s biggest priorities are her house, art and travel.
Latest South African edition
As previously reported, the new series will be filmed near beautiful Stellenbosch, South Africa, which is located in the Western Cape and about an hours drive from Cape Town.
The new show is a partnership between MultiChoice, M-Net and NBCUniversal Formats and is the latest South African Real Housewives franchise following the success of The Real Housewives of Johannesburg, The Real Housewives of Durban, The Real Housewives of Cape Town, The Real Housewives of Gqeberha, and The Real Housewives of Pretoria, also known as Die Real Housewives Van Pretoria.
Die Real Housewives Van Die Wynlande will be the second Real Housewives franchise in Afrikaans following the launch of Die Real Housewives Van Pretoria last year.
The area is known as a high-end and super luxe wine country so adding another show here seems to make sense considering wine is a main feature of both The Real Housewives and South African culture.
According to a quick Wikipedia search, Afrikaans is originally a West Germanic language that is now used by at least 15 to 23 million people in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Where can I watch Die Real Housewives Van Die Wynlande?
Die Real Housewives Van Die Wynlande is a kykNET exclusive (DStv 144) and premieres on Thursday, 20 April, at 20:00 local time.
While some African franchises have made their way on to streaming services like Hayu and Tubi, nothing has been announced for Wynlande and with the show’s primary language being Afrikaans, it may be a while before it becomes available for international audiences.
