Former House of Zwide actress Shelati Sekhabi has broken her silence after false pregnancy allegations about her began circulating on social media, describing the experience as deeply violating and emotionally distressing.
Taking to her Instagram stories, the actress addressed the claims, making it clear that the rumours were completely fabricated.
“I didn’t want to address this and make it a thing because there’s no truth to it, but so many people believe it. After having several strangers come up to me regarding this, it gets to a point,” she wrote.
Help curb spread of misinformation
The actress revealed that the rumours have gone beyond online chatter, with people confronting her in real life, something she says forced her to finally speak out.
Sekhabi did not hide her anger and disbelief at the lengths some people are willing to go to for attention online.
“It’s just an extremely violating feeling knowing that somebody woke up and decided to create an image and a post about someone they don’t know, knowing it’s fake.
“Surely such a person is not okay upstairs,” she said.
Clearly shaken, the actress questioned the motives behind the false claims and the environment that allows misinformation to spread unchecked.
Sekhabi urged her followers and the public to help curb the spread of false information by reporting the posts responsible for the rumours.
“I would appreciate everyone who sees this post to please click on the links shared and report the posts,” she said, thanking supporters for their help.
The actress got engaged to her onscreen husband, Wanda Zuma, in October 2025, after rising to fame for her role on the popular e.tv soapie.
Targets of social media lies
Sekhabi joins a growing list of South African celebrities who have had to publicly refute false claims about their personal lives on social media.
They include Miss South Africa 2015 Liesl Laurie-Mthombeni, who addressed baseless speculation in early 2024 by posting a video in which she pleaded with the public to “leave her womb alone”, stressing that women alone should decide when and how to share news about procreation.
In July 2024, influencer Mihlali Ndamase similarly pushed back after a video of her dancing sparked online gossip. She later posted a crop-top video to show her flat tummy in an attempt to refute the claims.
Miss South Africa 2019 Sasha-Lee Olivier faced a comparable situation in 2020 when the Miss SA Organisation had to issue a statement dismissing pregnancy rumours as “pure body shaming”.
