'Expresso' presenter Kuhle Adams on nearly losing her mom to femicide & life as a new presenter

Since winning the Presenter Search On 3, Expresso TV host Kuhle Adams has detailed how she navigates fulfilling her duties amid a whole pandemic and why she wants an end to Gender Based Violence (GBV) in SA.

In an interview with TshisaLIVE, Kuhle explained the challenges she faced last year, saying she was fortunate enough to still be able to work.

“My journey has been good, however, a bit challenging. It [presenting gig] had just fallen at a time of a global pandemic, so we're all just trying to figure our way around all of that.

“The challenge I faced mainly was trying to find my feet in a global pandemic which has proven very difficult as most of the work requires us to be in the public, to be out there socialising and be in public spaces and all lot of that hasn't been happening due to lockdown restrictions.” 

Kuhle explained that for most of 2020 she was just trying to learn as much as she could about the craft while trying not to contract the virus.

“So, now I think it's a time where I'm trying to figure it all out — to kind re-find my feet again and find a balance sort of. Because this year, I think I am officially in the industry seeing that I won the competition towards the end of 2019.”

Kuhle said this year she plans to re-introduce herself to the entertainment industry.

“That's why I am saying this year is a way of re-introducing myself into the industry. I was on TV everyday last year, I was apart of the lockdown crew — what the company did was operate on a skeleton capacity so we had to follow regulation in terms of no more than 50 people in studio so I was one of those people who had to go to work everyday during a pandemic.

“But I think for me, my love and appreciation of what I do was kind of solidified because in a time of confusion and a time of people losing their jobs, we as the Expresso presenters were offered the opportunity to continue to work and bring hope as well as information to many during this confusing time of a pandemic.” 

Kuhle also briefly touched on GBV and how her mother nearly died at the hands of her father.

“My mom was almost a victim of femicide because my father was extremely abusive — emotionally and very much physically — so there's that trauma that my siblings experienced with him. But I didn't grow up with my father in the same house hold.

“I draw a lot of my inspiration from my mum and siblings just that they have overcome so much in their lives and have managed to be okay with it and still succeed in their respective ways. My mother has taught us a lot about GBV and when it's the right time to leave especially the moment a man raises his hand.”