Actress Enhle Mbali Mlotshwa has spoken honestly about the struggles she faced in her marriage to Grammy-winning DJ Black Coffee, whose real name is Nkosinathi Innocent Maphumulo.
In a heartfelt interview with Relebogile Mabotja on 702, Enhle reflected on her marriage, which ended after she filed for divorce in 2019. She explained how she often felt alone in the relationship, despite being married. “I was a single married woman,” she said. “I then found myself being the foundation and the walls of the home.” She added that Black Coffee’s busy travel schedule meant she was left to raise their two children mostly on her own.
Enhle admitted she knew the marriage was over when her husband stepped out of the relationship and fathered children with other women. “I’m proud of how I handled my marriage. I never cheated, not once, until the day I decided to leave because I could no longer take the punishment to myself,” she revealed. “It’s multi-layered. But my non-negotiable was children in a marriage. Once there were two children by two different women, I said, ‘You don’t love me. In fact, you’re going to kill me.’”
She described the emotional toll it took on her and how she managed to find peace within herself. “I lost a lot of respect for my partner. I forgave him for the apologies I never got. I forgave myself,” she said.
Enhle also opened up about the difference between the public image of Black Coffee and the man she married. “I think a lot of people need to understand that when I was married, I wasn’t married to Black Coffee. They may be fans of Black Coffee, but I was married to Nkosinathi Innocent Maphumulo, who we started off together with and we didn’t have everything, in fact, we had enough. We started at the bottom and we grew together. Sometimes in the growing, people grow apart. In the growing there is control.”
The actress also offered advice for others thinking about marriage. She encouraged people to marry only when they are truly ready—emotionally and financially. “Marry when you’re older, wiser, smarter, have accumulated your own and come into a space where you will grow together but it doesn’t feel as if we’re following one direction. We’re both going into one direction together and we will reach it together,” she said.
