“It took Kiernan dying for us to become this close” – DJ Zinhle on Nadia Nakai

South Africa’s DJ Zinhle has said that the death of her ex-boyfriend, Kiernan “AKA” Forbes pushed her closer to Nadia Nakai, who the slain rapper was dating when he was fatally shot in Durban in February.

In an interview with The Sowetan, Zinhle revealed that although she never harboured any ill-feelings towards the woman who had seemingly replaced her as the apple of AKA’s eye, his murder had forced to forge a strong sisterhood.

“The loss opened all our eyes to a lot of things, and I think a blended family is something that I’ve always advocated for. When it comes to Nadia and I, we were feeling really sad that it took Kiernan dying for us to become this close.

“We never had beef or anything like that before but we were not this intentional about spending time with each other and being friends. She is now a major part of my life as well as the life of my family,” she shared.

Meanwhile, Zinhle said she was aware of the need to share less about the lives of her two children on social media. Zinhle had one child, Kairo, with the late rapper.

Since her death, Kairo has also remained close to her late father’s girlfriend, Nakai, who is also largely accepted by the Forbes family.

“I definitely think that my children are over-exposed, and this came from us just being comfortable with social media because we never thought there was a threat.

“I’m not saying there is a threat now but we are more intentional about removing them from social media more and more and that’s something we’re fixing,” she told The Sowetan.

Zinhle said she would be addressing some things in her upcoming reality show, including her supposedly flirtatious behavior towards American musician, Usher, during a recent tour of North America.

“A lot of things get said and misinterpreted online and anything that affects me in my personal life will become part of the show because it is reality.

One issue that was personal to me was the Usher saga because I have a work relationship with him and an alcohol brand, but it was interpreted in such a weird way in SA and sometimes I feel like I can use the show to shed more light on such things and how they make me feel,” she said.