Cover Stories Features

A Season of Abundance: Neo Nontso on Motherhood, Identity and Making Room for More

Sheila Afari 31 August 2026

Pregnancy glow is one of those things you hear about. Then Neo Nontso walks into a room and suddenly you understand exactly what everyone means. Nine months pregnant when she arrived on set for her Batswadi cover shoot, Neo was radiant. Not simply in the way she looked, but in the unmistakable joy she carried with her. There was an ease about her, an excitement and, perhaps most strikingly, a sense of contentment. With her baby due any day now, she looked every bit like a woman ready to meet the little person she has spent the past nine months imagining.

It feels fitting, then, that we photographed her surrounded by an abundance of fresh fruit and produce. Food has long been one of the ways Neo expresses love, nurtures people and tells stories. Now, as she prepares for motherhood, nourishment has taken on an entirely different meaning. At the same time, she is preparing to release Love and Lobola, a deeply personal cookbook that tells an African love story through the meals, memories, family traditions and cultural moments that have shaped her own.

But if there is one thing Neo is clear about, it is that motherhood does not mark the beginning of a new era. She describes it instead as an expansion of the woman she has spent years becoming: chef, creator, entrepreneur, wife, friend and now, mother. As she stands on the cusp of motherhood, with Love and Lobola on the way and a life already rich with stories, I sit in conversation with Neo Nontso about love, identity, nourishment, home and making room for more.

Neo, when we photographed you for this cover, you were absolutely glowing, and now you’re nine months pregnant with your baby due any day. How are you feeling in these final days?

It’s such a strange mix of emotions. I’m excited, emotional, tired, uncomfortable, everything! Lol I’ve spent nine months wondering what baby will look like, what their personality will be like, and now we’re literally days away from meeting. I think more than anything, I’m ready. There’s also this calmness that has come over me in these final days. I’ve done what I can do, my body has done this incredible thing, and now I’m just waiting for my baby!

During our cover shoot, you said something that really stayed with us: you don’t see motherhood as a new beginning, but rather a chapter of growth. What did you mean by that?

I don’t see becoming a mother as starting my life over or becoming a completely different person. I see it as an expansion of who I already am.

I’ve spent years becoming Neo, building my career, learning myself, making mistakes, falling in love, building a home, becoming a wife and motherhood doesn’t and shouldn’t erase any of that. It adds to it. I’m still me, I just get to discover another part of myself that I’ve never met before. That’s really exciting to me.

Neo Nontso | Photographed by George Qua-Enoo

There’s often this idea that when a woman becomes a mother, everything that came before almost disappears and she is introduced to the world again as ‘Mom’. As you step into motherhood, how important is it to you to hold onto Neo, the woman you’ve spent all these years becoming?

Very important. I think sometimes motherhood is spoken about as though a woman disappears and is replaced by “Mom,” and I don’t want that for myself.

Of course, my priorities will change and motherhood will require so much of me, but I still want to nurture the woman I was before my child arrived. I still want to cook, create, build businesses, get dressed up, travel, have date nights with my husband, see my friends and have dreams that belong to me.

I actually think holding onto Neo will help me be a better mother. I want my baby to grow up seeing me as a whole person, not someone whose entire identity began the day they were born.

When you think about the type of person you hope to eventually raise, what matters most to you?

A kind one.

Of course I want to raise someone that is strong, ambitious and confident, but none of those things mean much to me without kindness and integrity. I want to raise a human who respects people, who is emotionally intelligent, who knows how to communicate and who doesn’t think vulnerability makes them weak.

I want my child to know who they are and where they come from, but also to understand that strength doesn’t have to be loud. If we can raise a good human being who leaves people better than they found them, I’ll feel like we’ve done something right.

Neo Nontso | Photographed by George Qua-Enoo

You’ve spent so much of your career feeding and nurturing people through food. Has being pregnant changed the way you think about nourishment, knowing that for the past nine months you’ve quite literally been nourishing another human being?

Completely. Food has always been how I nurture people. If I love you, chances are I’m going to feed you. 😂

But pregnancy has given nourishment a completely different meaning because for nine months I’ve been feeding someone I’ve never even met. Suddenly eating isn’t only about what I feel like having, there’s this awareness that my body is building another human being.

It’s made me appreciate my body differently too. I’ve watched it change so much, and instead of only thinking about how it looks, I’ve had to remind myself of what it’s actually doing. That’s been incredibly humbling.

And somewhere in the middle of growing a human, you’ve also managed to create a new cookbook, Love and Lobola. What season of your life does this book capture, and what story did you want to tell through it?

It captures such a full season of my life, falling in love, becoming a wife, joining families, celebrating culture and creating a home and my own traditions with someone.

I wanted to tell an African love story through food but also tell MY story. The recipes are connected to real moments: meals my husband cooked for me when we were dating, dishes connected to my lobola weekend, family food, hosting, heritage and the things we’ve eaten and experienced together.

That’s why Love and Lobola feels so personal. It’s not just a collection of recipes. It’s almost like opening my photo album, except you can cook the memories.

Neo Nontso | Photographed by George Qua-Enoo

I love the title Love and Lobola because even before opening the book, it evokes food, family, culture and gathering. What have love and food taught you about each other?

That neither has to be extravagant to be meaningful.

Some of the most loving meals aren’t the impressive ones. Sometimes it’s somebody making you tea exactly how you like it, bringing you a plate because they know you’re tired, or remembering something you once said you loved.

Food has taught me that love often lives in those tiny acts of consideration. And love has taught me that food tastes different when there’s a memory attached to it. That’s probably why I remember moments in meals. 😂

Soon there will be another little person sitting at your table and growing up with your food as part of their understanding of home. Are there particular dishes, traditions or memories around food that you’re excited to pass down?

I’m excited for my child to understand that food is so much more than something we eat. It’s family, culture, storytelling and memory.

I want my child to know the foods I grew up with and the dishes from our families, but I also want us to create our own traditions with them. Maybe there’ll be something I cook every birthday or something we always make together on Sundays.

I love the thought that one day my child will eat something and immediately think, “This tastes like home.” I think that’s one of the most beautiful things you can give a child.

Neo Nontso | Photographed by George Qua-Enoo

We’ve spoken about all the beautiful things you’re looking forward to, but first-time motherhood also comes with so much unknown. What part of becoming a mother feels most daunting to you, and what are you giving yourself permission not to have figured out yet?

The unknown.

You can read every book, buy everything on the checklist and listen to everyone’s advice, but you’ve never actually mothered YOUR child before. I think I’m most nervous about that responsibility, knowing that this little person will depend on us for everything. It’s always been me myself and I, I’ve never had to think of the survival of any other human besides myself. It’s scary, but I’m also so excited to give someone else so much love and consideration.

I’m giving myself permission not to know everything immediately. I’m a first-time mom and they’re a first-time baby. 😂 We’re both new here! I’m going to learn them, they’re going to learn me, and hopefully we’ll figure each other out along the way.

By the time people are reading this cover story, there’s a very real possibility that your baby will already be here. So, before their arrival, if you could leave a little message here for the baby who made you a mother, what would you want him to know?

My sweet baby, you were loved long before we ever saw your face.

You’ve already changed me in ways you won’t understand for many years. You’ve taught me to slow down, surrender, trust my body and make room in my life for a love I haven’t experienced before. You’ve brought me so much calm and reassurance of who I am.

I don’t promise to always get it right, but I promise you’ll never have to question whether you are loved. I hope you always feel safe with us, I hope our home is always somewhere you can return to, and I hope we give you enough roots to know exactly where you come from and enough freedom to become whoever you’re meant to be.

I can’t wait to meet you. ❤️