‘Why was there shame involved?’: Happy couple humiliated for getting engaged at KFC, but things turn around when it earns them corporate love

Love can bloom anywhere, and even the most mundane things can be made romantic if done the right way. For Nonhlanhla Soldaat and Hector Mkansi, a simple trip to KFC marked the start of an epic new romantic adventure

While it’s so easy to be mean and rude online, it is also very easy to be kind and generous. This story of a couple from South Africa who had a cute engagement at a KFC shows the highs and lows of being on the internet. They experienced the lows of online scrutiny and the joys of online solidarity in an ultimately heartwarming story. 

An unconventional love story

Nonhlanhla Soldaat and Hector Mkansi sparked headlines a few years ago when Mkansi proposed to Soldaat in one of South Africa’s many KFCs. While the proposal was cute, and many people online gushed over the couple, things got heated when one journalist took to her Twitter account to comment on the proposal. She questioned why Mkansi would propose at a KFC and called him broke and classless. 

This rightfully enraged the public, with comments defending his decision of proposal location, and criticizing the blatant classism on display. Some speculated that KFC was a special place for the couple, and Soldaat herself confirmed this in a TimesLIVE video, sharing that they visited the restaurant quite a lot. However, comments on the location of the proposal and his finances would still have been inappropriate, regardless of these factors. 

It wasn’t all sad though, because South Africa rallied around their own. Just two months after the proposal, Soldaat and Mkansi received a wedding that far exceeded their expectations, courtesy of the goodwill donations of multiple brands and well-wishers. And “heartwarming” is an understatement, when you see how everyone rallied around the pair.

South Africa unites for an epic love story

The happy couple had their wedding sponsored by KFC at the Thaba Eco Hotel in Johannesburg. But the excitement didn’t only stop at the wedding day. Their sweet story, and the harsh words of that one commenter, opened the floodgates for a wave of support like no other. 

Multiple brands and companies reached out to the couple and pledged all kinds of goods and freebies to give them the best first year of marriage. KFC themselves didn’t just sponsor the wedding but also paid for the couple to have a wonderful, all-expenses-paid honeymoon in New York City. Coca-Cola supplied all the drinks for the wedding, while Woolworths supplied catering. 

Furthermore, Audi provided transportation for the couple’s wedding and honeymoon, and Kulula Holidays gifted the couple a 5-night honeymoon trip. Even their wedding rings were supplied by a South African jeweler, who gifted the couple with two R45000 rings for their wedding. 

While it would be awesome to end the story there, the gifts didn’t just stop at the wedding and honeymoon. Companies like Saks Consulting and Rain South African gifted the couple a year of free electricity and data. They also received free phones from Huawei and free furniture and home décor services from HomeChoice. Individuals, brands, and other well-wishers also gave monetary donations to the happy couple, so it’s fair to say that they had the best year of their lives. Messages of love, support, and solidarity have continued till this day, and this story just goes to show the power of community and the goodness of people.