Portia Baloyi Opens Up About Her First Marriage and Why It Ended

Married at First Sight Mzansi star Portia Baloyi has shared emotional details about why her first marriage ended in divorce. While many fans know her from her relationship with Married at First Sight South Africa Season 2 co-star Bongani Luvalo, few knew that Bongani wasn’t her first husband.

With Season 2 of the reality show now wrapped up, Portia joined The Relebogile Mabotja Podcast, where she spoke openly about her first marriage, her experiences as a young wife, and what she learned from it all.

Can you be ready for marriage and motherhood at 21?

Portia Baloyi reflects on her first marriage.

Click the link in our bio to watch the full episode.@RelebogileM #RelebogilePod #MarriedAtFirstSightMzansi pic.twitter.com/c3aNx63bmN

— The Relebogile Mabotja Podcast (@RelebogilePod) October 23, 2025

On Thursday, 23 October 2025, the podcast shared a short clip from her interview on X, giving fans a glimpse into Portia’s past. In the snippet, Portia spoke fondly of her ex-husband, explaining that he was 12 years older than her and that their relationship started when she was still very young.

“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.

Portia described how, at first, she admired her husband’s maturity and the way he took care of her. But even though she appreciated him, she admitted that she wasn’t ready for the life that came with being married at such a young age.

“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.

Portia said that at 21, she still wanted to explore life, enjoy her youth, and have fun. But marriage brought sudden responsibilities and restrictions that she wasn’t emotionally prepared for. She realised that the version of herself her husband wanted didn’t match who she truly was at that stage in her life.

During the interview, Portia also spoke about her more recent marriage to Bongani Luvalo, whom she met through Married at First Sight Mzansi. While the show made their relationship look happy at first, she revealed that things were already falling apart behind the scenes before the series even aired.

She said, “With social media, they think that the marriage ended because of the things I said about him. Our marriage ended way before the show aired. When he couldn’t handle me when I was hurt, that for me was a turning point. I didn’t leave him guessing that I’m hurt. I told him that you hurt me.”

Portia’s honesty and vulnerability in the interview resonated with many fans who praised her for speaking her truth.