While M-Net’s “The Single Wives SA” ended a few weeks ago, one contestant got her “happy ending” but there’s one snag - her fiancé is, technically, still married.
Last week, Chantelle Thrupp Snow reached out to IOL Entertainment to share her good news - she recently got engaged to Marc McRae.
In her correspondence, she wrote: “My letter to you today is one of happiness and elation, however, in my happiness I have to learn the art of patience.
“You may or may not know that I was part of a little tv show, ‘The Single Wives SA’ and I walked out of the mansion in a relationship and subsequently was proposed to on the last episode, however, we didn’t get officially engaged until about two weeks ago because we had a lot of dust that had to be settled.”
The 30-something mother of three was part of the six female contestants looking for help in the relationship department on the reality show.
Although she’s yearned for the “picket-white-fence” life, two failed marriages later, she was nowhere close to having it.
Her forceful disposition, compounded by her borderline personality disorder diagnosis, made it difficult for her to sustain a lasting relationship.
Interestingly, she first met McRae (a friend of her ex-husband) at a gathering at the home of her ex-husband, Warwick Thrupp, and his wife, Lesley.
She added: “ My ex-husband told me to stay away because he was busy getting divorced and he didn’t want my heart to be broken in the process and he subsequently did the same with Marc. He told him I had just gotten out of my failed engagement.”
Thrupp Snow says McRae reached out to her several times after but she wasn’t ready to pursue a relationship. Also, she was focusing on the show, after learning she was selected to be a part of the series.
By chance, while she was on the show, desperately looking for a date for their last cocktail evening as all the guys on her list were not available, Marc, through a series of events, ended up joining her.
Thrupp Snow was pleasantly surprised when the date turned into something more.
“When I first met him, he was quite overweight and not my cup of tea. When I walked down to meet him (for the cocktail evening), he had turned his life around. It was like he had lost a whole other person,” she shared.
Sparks flew and they ended up connecting on the show.
For the finale, where the contestants caught up with dating coaches, Justin Cohen and Mapaseka Mokwele, she was positively glowing.
During the chat, McRae added: “We get along like a house on fire. We have the same personality and likes. Our hobbies are very much the same. We are talking (about) marriage. This is a future I’m looking forward to.”
Aside from the Covid-19 lockdown, there was another glitch in their plans - he is technically still married as his divorce hasn’t been finalised. It was meant to happen in April this year.
In the meantime, the couple have been inseparable since appearing on the reality show. They even moved in together to save costs during the lockdown.
Thrupp Snow added: “The one thing I wanted to highlight is that my journey from ‘The Single Wives SA’ has inspired so many women to be real.
“South Africa needs a happy ending, they have definitely not received it via ‘The Bachelor SA’, both seasons, ‘Married at First Sight’ or ’Boer Soek ’n Vrou’.
“Here we are, happily engaged and waiting to get married, pending the finalization of Marc’s divorce.
“I was and never will be a home-wrecker and we have been open and honest from the beginning to his ex and her family about our relationship.”
The couple plan on exchanging their vows on May 15, 2021, and are busy with wedding preparations. This will be the third time down the aisle for both of them.
A spokesperson for M-Net commented: “Ms Chantelle Thrupp was a participant in the reality series, ‘The Single Wives SA’, which ran from 17 February – 23 March as well as May 8 - 9, with a reunion episode on May 15.
“The format of the show is that outside of the terms and conditions associated with the broadcast, M-Net does not dictate who the participants invite to be their guest/s on the show as this is key to their transformational journey.
“Any formal dealings with the contestants of ‘The Single Wives SA’ came to an end when the final episode was broadcast.”