Kelly Khumalo and Estranged Best Friend Reunite After Years Apart, Fans Cheer: "Aunticle is back"
- Kelly Khumalo seemingly rekindled a longtime friendship at the 17th Feather Awards
- On Monday, 10 November 2025, Kelly Khumalo shared a photo of the reunion on her Instagram account
- Fans and celebrities, such as Manaka Ranaka, expressed joy, excitement and nostalgia after seeing the two together again
Source: Instagram
South African musician Kelly Khumalo has South Africans in their feels after she recently reunited with her estranged best friend.
Khumalo was among the entertainers who kept attendees dancing at the 17th edition of the Feather Awards. While Kelly Khumalo did not receive an award at the ceremony held at Melrose Arch in Johannesburg on Thursday, 6 November 2025, she rekindled a long-lost friendship.
Kelly Khumalo reunites with best friend after years
On Monday, 10 November, Kelly Khumalo shared content from the 2025 Feather Awards. In one of the photos Khumalo shared, she was tightly hugging her estranged best friend, Thami Kotlolo, also known as Thami Dish, who is the founder of the Feather Awards. The photo was captioned:
“@thamidish it’s like no time was lost❤️👏🏽🐆”
See the post below:
SA reacts to Kelly Khumalo and Thami Dish's reunion
In the comments, celebrities like Manaka Ranaka and fans celebrated Kelly Khumalo and Thami Dish’s reunion.
Here are some of the comments:
manakaranaka replied:
“❤️❤️❤️”
refiloe_fifilicious gushed:
“Oh, my goodness, I love this. You guys had the most amazing friendship.”
Accordingtomokga shared:
“Oh my God, yesterday I was going through Thami’s page, and missed you guys both. Oh God is good 😍😍❤️”
ayanda_dikinyeka_ joked:
“Kelly Khumalo, I am so happy for this chomie. Aunticle is back like umqolo halala❤️❤️❤️❤️.”
kb_go.bang highlighted:
“Just like siblings, we won’t always agree on everything, but the love is always there. I’m so happy for you guys ❤️”
nsele_luyanda said:
“To think, sometime over the weekend, Thami Dish came to mind for some reason. I didn’t know I was going to see this and smile from ear to ear.”
juno_fonti argued:
“Some phases in our lives require isolation to figure out what’s best! ❤️”
enymarumo2 gushed:
“Oh ncoooooo🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 Lord, I thank you for restoring this friendship 🙌🙌❤️❤️❤️❤️”
corazon_nolutshungu_cn suggested:
“I love this for both of you ♥️ Unleash the Barbra in you both, please. Barbra must come back 🌻💛”
Source: Instagram
Why did Kelly Khumalo and Thami Dish end their friendship?
Despite having a friendship tattoo with Thami and Wanda that reads 'Always and Forever', throughout the seasons of her reality show Life With Kelly Khumalo, fans witnessed her friendship with previous bestie Thami Dish and gospel star Brenda Mtambo come to an end.
In 2022, Kelly Khumalo also stopped being friends with her bestie Wanda Baloyi. Kelly admitted that she was concerned that people she had been friends with for a long time were leaving her life.
“The reality of losing friends as you grow older is a tough one. Maybe I'm also the problem because I mean, we keep losing the same friends. Thami, now it's Brenda, I don't know, a part of me is concerned,” she said at the time.
Bonang and Somizi reunite after years apart
Kelly Khumalo and Thami Dish aren't the only ones who rekindled their friendship.
Briefly News previously reported that Somizi Mhlongo and Bonang Matheba seemingly reunited after years of being apart. The former Idols SA judge posted a video of them bumping into one another at the airport.
People had differing views regarding the encounter, with some picking up tension while others were smiling from ear to ear.
Source: Briefly News
