Big Brother Africa: Tatiana – A Woman Of Many Talents

Combine a playful persona with a hint of naughtiness, add a flirtatious nature and a gentle soul and voila, you have 29-year-old Tatiana Durao. During her time in the All Stars house, Tati played, she flirted, teased, kissed (both men and women), danced provocatively in more ways than one, semi-stripped and sang.

No one can accuse Tatiana of not giving her all – she gave 110 per cent. The road has been long for Tatiana but the journey ‘enjoyable’. The Namibian caught up with the Angolan housemate yesterday to ask her more about her Big Brother Africa All Stars experience.Tatiana, how are you? How are you finding the outside world?I’m good, I feel really great. I still haven’t seen much of the outside world since I came out of the house but I’m looking forward to experiencing it.How was your All Stars Experience different from your previous BBA experience?There is no way to compare one experience with the other. During my first season I fell in love and that was a different story but this time I made up my mind I wasn’t going in the house to fall in love with anyone so I just played with the guys.What was your most memorable highlight?The weekend after Hannington left, you know for the first time that weekend we actually had a DJ in the Barn. It was fun.Tati, you were more playful and flirtatious during this All Stars season compared to the first time round. Was this your strategy?Well, during the first season I could not be playful and flirtatious because I fell in love with Richard. This time I told myself that I was not going to fall in love, but instead I decided that I was going to tease and play with the guys. I decided that I was going to drive them crazy and it worked, especially on Hannington. In a nutshell, I was just having fun, I mean I’m a natural flirt and that was actually part of my game plan. The longest relationship you’ve had, how long did it last?It lasted seven years. It was with my ex-boyfriend from South Africa, the one I always use to talk about in the house during my first Big Brother. You won an all-expenses paid trip worth R50 000 from SA Tourism. How do you feel and when will you take your trip and who will you take along?I feel very good about it, and the reason I won that trip was because I spent 36 hours inside that box during our task last week. I am looking forward to the trip because I really need a break. I seriously need a vacation. I’m going to talk to my boyfriend and I’ll ask him to accompany me on the trip.Oh, you have a boyfriend?Yes I do. His name is Olivier and he is Belgian. We met in Angola a year and four months ago and we are getting married next year.How do you think Olivier felt about the fact that you flirted so much in the house?I mean put in his shoes, I don’t think I would have felt good if he were to flirt with other girls but flirting and teasing the guys in the house was part of my game plan. I’ve spoken to him a bit about it but I’m still going to talk to him in detail just to make him understand that it was all part of the game and didn’t mean anything. I understand I was a little naughty but I didn’t go crazy … and of course he feels hurt a bit but I’m going to fix that hurt. How would you describe your relationship with Munya?(Laughs) Well, Munya was the first guy I clicked with in the house and I would say we had a colourful friendship. Due to the fact that I have a boyfriend and he has a girlfriend and a baby at home, we were just friends. He was someone I could play with and he with me as well. And for the record, he is the only guy I didn’t give a peck on the lips. But we had a connection and everyone saw that connection.Who would you say is the sexiest guy in the game this time round?Definitely Hannington and Uti.Have you had a chance to properly watch the Hanni-Lerato incident in The Barn … and what do you think in retrospect?I was there when it happened but everything happened so fast. To me it felt like a bad dream. Even before that Hannington was getting a bit aggressive, rude and even cold at times and when that incident finally happened, it was just not nice. It brought such a bad mood in the house and we were not happy.Do you think it’s become increasingly difficult for a woman to win Big Brother because different standards are applied to men and women?Yes definitely, and that’s very sad hey. We even had discussion about it in The Barn and when you look at it, it’s not just BBA but life in general, we women don’t support each other and that is sad. As women, we are too caught up looking for faults in each other instead of just looking past our faults and instead supporting each other. I think men are more organised than us women, especially when it comes to supporting each other. We as women should do more to empower and support each other otherwise we will never come out on top. We should stop crucifying each other and should even look at creating platforms for debate around such issues. I even told Biggie that if this thing continues, where guys are always the ones winning, then it looks as if women are just put in for fun but actually don’t stand a chance of winning. You wore a lot of beautiful clothes in the house, do you have a stylist? And on average, how much do you spend on clothes? Yes, I do have a stylist in Angola. He is the one who gets clothes for me. But most of the clothes I wore during BBA I bought in South Africa and some around Europe when I travelled there. I’m a model and we need to look good always. How much I spend depends on where I am. For example when I’m on vacation, I can spend about R5 000 on clothes and shoes. Who do you think will win, and why?Munya, because he has a lot of fans. I mean he’s been nominated so many times but he never leaves. I can’t believe people actually feel sorry for this ‘bombo’ … just because he’s got a baby now people feel like they should give him the money. But ja, like I said, he has a lot of fans.Now that BBA All Stars is over, what’s in store for you?Well, the reason I came back to the BBA All Stars show is because I am also working on my own project, a television reality show called ‘Oh Tatiana’. During this show, I’ll have cameras following me everywhere I go as a model, actress, television presenter, goodwill ambassador and my new career as a musician. I will be touring Africa paying specific attention to the different tourist attractions in each country. In Namibia I will specifically pay attention to the desert. Through the show I want to get the message across to the rest of the world that Africa is a beautiful continent and I’m in talks with M-Net and other TV stations for them to air my show.And finally, for your fans out there who would like to get in touch with you, how do they go about it?Well, they can look me up on Facebook. I also have a website and the address is www.tatianadurao.com. Alternatively, they can drop my manager a mail at alicemutumba@hotmail.com- Keep watching all the Big Brother action go down 24/7 on DStv Channel 198. Also catch the daily highlights shows on M-Net Africa, Channel 102 daily at 18h30.