Often, real-life events overtake the drama in reality shows. Sometimes, it explains certain behaviours in the show.

In the third instalment of “Young, Famous & African”, which is one of my favourite shows, two major life events happened: Naked DJ finally put a ring on it with long-time girlfriend, Kayleigh Schwark, and Zari "The Boss Lady" Hassan found true love with entrepreneur Shakib Lutaaya.

Talk about a fairytale wedding. Zari was a goddess as she walked down the aisle.

Although the eight-part season opened on a breathtaking note, much of the season was dominated by unresolved issues and new beefs, amid a few kumbaya moments.

Of course, we are talking about industry heavyweights on the African continent. While they serve the catwalk looks, they also don’t hold back with their emotions, especially when anyone from the clique steps out of line.

This season saw the return of the principal cast, which included Swanky Jerry, Nadia Nakai, Diamond Platnumz, Luis Munana and Khanyi Mbau making a guest appearance.

Nadia Nakai, Swanky Jerry and Ini Edo in ‘Young Famous & African’ S3. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024

Aside from Shakib holding his own as a new addition, the series welcomed influencer Kefilwe Mabote and Nollywood superstar Ini Edo, who brought their fiery personalities to the table.

This week, news of Annie Macaulay-Idibia and 2Baba's separation left fans reeling. However, certain cast members from the reality show were not surprised as the writing was on the wall with his many infidelities over the years.

Zari and Khanyi stood firmly by Annie, sending her messages of support on socials.

Back to the new season though, Annie’s foot-in-mouth moments saw her fall out of favour with Zari and Nadia.

While Zari, who has mellowed a bit since marrying again, forgave Annie for commenting on her marrying a man young enough to be her son, Nadia wasn’t as magnanimous.

Unlike season two, which aired shortly after Kiernan “Aka” Forbes was killed, Nadia’s grief was unmistakable this time.

Despite putting on a brave face, the rapper was hurting from losing the love of her life. This was evident when Khanyi paid her a surprise visit to personally check on her.

Fans celebrated Nadia this season for calling Annie out. She was ruthless but on point with her rant. She made it very clear that the group should not be making excuses for Annie’s bad behaviour.

She acknowledged that as much as Annie was going through a lot, she was also going through the most but she didn’t walk in destruction.

She made it clear that she was not to be messed with as she was a witch and a b**** and that Annie had no right to call her fake as she wouldn’t recognise a real a** b****.

Nadia said that "accountability" was not in Annie’s vocabulary.

Yoh, after that shutdown, Annie had no option but to walk away red-faced. Viewers still can’t get over that clapback.

There were two other talking points on the show. One of which was Luis, still chasing that surrogation dream, unwittingly rubbing Ini up the wrong way as it opened old wounds for her.

The second was the heated exchange between Kefilwe and Zari at Swanky’s gig.

Kefilwe Mabote in ‘Young Famous and African’ S3. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2025

While Zari was a lethal combination of sassy and savage as she responded to Kefilwe’s fake marriage rumours, it was Shakib who trended on socials for swooping in and protecting his lady from having a drink thrown at her.

Shakib was the surprise factor this season. He was a gentleman every step of the way. But despite being younger than the other guys, he displayed confidence and maturity and put everyone else to shame.

There’s also a pregnancy scare on the show but I can’t spill all the tea. You need to schedule a binge-watch session. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

∎ “Young, Famous & African” season three is streaming on Netflix.

Rating: 4/5

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