Uthanda Bani episode 7 recap: Will weight loss heal heartbreak?

It seems some people are looking for a quick way to lose weight. Unfortunately, that could lead to dangerous results especially when pills are involved. Sphiwe from Tsakane, east of Johannesburg, knows all about the potential harm that diet pills can cause. He wrote to Uthanda Bani after realising that he can’t help his partner, Tsotetsi, on his own. 

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They’ve been in a relationship for almost three years, and it started really well. However, cracks started to show mid-2021. “I messed up while I was still in a relationship with her. I was still attached to my baby mama,” he explained. Basically, he cheated on her and had a baby outside their relationship. Sphiwe thinks his partner’s addiction was triggered by his cheating. 

“My partner… I really don’t understand her anymore. I actually think that addiction is now getting to her head,” he explained. 

He added: “Whatever product arrives – whether it’s herbal or green tea – she drinks it. She is obsessed with losing weight. And I’ve been telling her that I love her the way she is.” He mentioned all the different weight loss brands she’s used so far, and his biggest concern is that it has a negative effect on her mental health and their relationship. “She is so obsessed that the screenshots and videos on her phone are full of ‘how to lose weight’… She buys small clothes, things like size 28.” 

He now thinks this is also affecting her self-esteem. When Basani asked Tsotetsi when her alleged addiction started, she replied: “I think after I had a child. Then I gained some weight. And then after that, I started going on a diet.”

She’s been on this diet for about seven years. Sphiwe just wants her to stop using all these different products because he claims to love her as she is. However, the fact that he cheated on her with a woman with a slimmer body affected his partner and she’s struggling to move past that issue. Tsotetsi has been so obsessed with losing weight that she didn’t even bother verifying the credibility of the products she’s been using. She’s even ended up in hospital. 

Basani tried to make her see that her problems are deeper than just losing weight. “Your partner broke your heart. Instead of dealing with that, you ran away. You became insecure,” she told her. Tsotetsi then realised that she has an addiction. “This is something I do constantly. If this one doesn’t work, I try the next one,” she shared on the show. 

She promised to work on the issue. “From now on, I will follow proper channels for losing weight. From now on, I will get help with my addiction. And I will also have time for you and the kids,” she told her partner. 

All the episodes of Uthanda Bani are available to binge-watch on Showmax.

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