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Thinus (Arno Marais) and Ryno (Adrian Steyn) on Getroud Met Rugby

From "Getroud Met Rugby"

South Africa's first same-sex wedding on an Afrikaans soap opera

From reporting by Roberto Igual

Mamba Online

Getroud Met Rugby (Married To Rugby) broke new ground on South African TV in 2019 by  broadcasting what was said to be the first same-sex wedding on an Afrikaans soap opera.

The popular show follows the lives and loves of rugby players and their families. On September 13th 2019 the show featured an episode including the inter-racial wedding of Ryno (Adrian Steyn), a professional rugby player, and Thinus (Arno Marais) a lawyer.

The character of Ryno was introduced in January of that year when he joined the Stryders rugby team. Viewers then met Thinus a day later and they were soon established as a couple and got engaged on the show in July 2019.

The show’s publicist, Rudo van Heerden said, “We wanted to share a beautiful love story between two people,” He said that GMR‘s producers and writers brought in the lovebirds to not just tell an entertaining story but also to challenge stereotypes and stigma around homosexuality in the traditionally conservative rugby world.

“We felt that it was time to bring a rugby player to GMR that happened to be gay and in a steady relationship,” van Heerden explained. “Although our show and characters are fictional, we try our best to tell stories that people can relate to and show our viewers a bit of what is going on in the world.”

“It was the most beautiful moment”

GMR also recently featured scenes that reflect the discrimination that LGBTQ sportspeople face. In the first two weeks after Ryno joined the Stryders team, he became the victim of homophobia in the locker room from some of his teammates.

“The aim was for viewers to feel his pain and rejection although he is a strong man that made peace with himself a long time ago,” said Van Heerden. “The story evolved that his haters later came to apologize to him and they became friends in one team.”

The two actors behind Ryno and Thinus are enthusiastic about their characters and were deeply moved by their fictional nuptials. Steyn remarked that “It was the most beautiful moment between Ryno and Thinus. I had to keep reminding myself that it is not real.” Marais added: “The love between the couple is just so incredible. I have never experienced something like it. It felt just like a real wedding.”

Van Heerden says the response from viewers to the wedding was overwhelmingly positive. “There were a few negative comments but compared to the positive ones they are not even 10% of the reactions. Our viewers really love Ryno and Thinus!”

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Did You Know:

Same-sex marriage in South Africa has been legal since the Civil Union Act, 2006 came into force on 30 November 2006. South Africa was the fifth country in the world and the first in Africa to legalize same-sex marriage.