The Pinkers’ relationship started as a holiday romance and blossomed from there. “We were both on holiday in Stilbaai,” smiles Zanell, “I was 17 and Stephan in first year. We were staying with my cousin, who is close friends with Stephan. We fell head over heels in love and had the most wonderful holiday.” The couple went back to their respective normal lives. Stephan finished his degree and went overseas, while Zanell continued with her studies. As fate would have it, six years later, the two of them bumped into each other in Pretoria and it was love at first sight all over again. They started dating soon after, and three years later officially tied the knot.
Stephan, a born and bred Lowvelder, and Zanell, who hails from North West, are happily settled in Mbombela, where they run their respective businesses and raise their family. Zanell loves her work as a classical ballet teacher. “It truly is very rewarding. Nothing can compare to the feeling of sharing your love and passion for something, in my case classical ballet,” she smiles. “I really enjoy working with the children, watching the love for ballet grow, and seeing them succeed. I take it very seriously, because you work with these young children and you have a responsibility to make a difference in their lives. I try to instil a love of ballet as an art form, with patience, attention and passion.”
Stephan is a qualified civil engineer and runs a construction company that specialises in upmarket residential property development. He is also the proud owner of two retail fuel sites in the Lowveld. His most recent venture is bringing a new craze, Padel 24, to Mbombela.
The couple are the proud parents of three boys, Eli, who is nine years old, Axel who is seven, and Jack, who is four. “They are happy, busy boys,” says Zanell. “They love sport and the outdoors a lot. Although they are rough-and-tumble, they also have a soft side to them, especially when it comes to me.” Leading busy lives and raising a happy family can take some doing, but the Pinkers have it down pat. To them, a happy – healthy – marriage is built on trust, trusting each other to always offer support in every aspect of life, from careers to raising children. “Marriage means a partner that you love to travel with, train with and have a glass of wine with at the end of the busy day. Marriage is also about not sweating the small stuff, being able to accept that some things are out of your control and in God’s hands. Negativity is not allowed in our family,” laughs Stephan.
Romance, on the other hand, most certainly is. “Stephan is the romantic one in our relationship. He is the best at planning special dates and getaways. I get flustered and nervous when planning something special and end up sticking to the basics,” Zanell smiles.
“My love language is quality time and his is physical touch. We just try and connect as much as we can when we are together, even if it is just over a glass of wine in the kitchen when we are busy cooking. The normal evening routine is spent with the children, connecting and talking about the day. Doing romantic things are very important. For us it comes down to quality time away from the kids. Slipping away to the bush or Dullstroom for a night or two does wonders for our relationship – it’s a complete reset. Fortunately, granny and grandpa (Colin and Charmaine Pinker) are always on hand to take the boys for a night or two. We also try to do a lunch date every Friday at Mozambik, which we always look forward to.”
During the week is family time with the kids, which is spent playing soccer, swimming or going for long walks. The couple share all the responsibilities, picking up where the other one cannot get to something. “We both know we have a responsibility to make the house run smoothly, such as dropping off and fetching children from school and sport, helping with homework, cooking, working, attending to the boys’ needs and being there for one another, emotionally and physically,” explains Stephan. “Quality family time comes easily when both parties help with the kids. If the boys get too busy, we leave them with the nanny and go running. A big part of quality time for us is training together,” Stephan adds, who spends a fair amount of time doing just that.
He and his team, The Slowvelders, have just completed the Adventure Racing World Champs, a 900km, eight-day adventure world series where they placed 85th overall. This year The Slowvelders will be taking on a six-day, 600km race across Namibia.
Travel is also a big part of the family’s together time and is something they do as often as possible. They love going to Zimbabwe or Botswana during the June holidays, camping in the bush under the stars. “These are the best family holidays,” says Zanell, “but we also like to travel alone and explore new places. We haven’t done that in a while, because our lives with the boys are just too busy at the moment,” she adds. “In the same breath, we are also homebodies, and we love spending time at our house and living in the Lowveld.
We love our friends, and the bush, the weather here is wonderful, and we also enjoy bird watching. Another drawcard is the people and the business opportunities here.”
This is one of the reasons why the couple’s special place is their veranda, glass of Cab Sav in hand, in harmony with family and the wildlife on the estate. A typical weekend together consists of the highly anticipated lunch date on Friday, and then at-home time. Sitting on the stoep, braaiing, having fun with the boys. “We do normally go to bed early because we both train early on a Saturday morning,” Zanell explains. “After training, we might go to friends, otherwise it is back home to make delicious food (Stephan is a very good cook). Sundays we go to church, cook and chill.”
Inspired by each other, parents and friends, the Pinkers are currently living their best lives. Taking the best out of their careers, their kids and family, as well as loving the life they live, means a happy and balanced lifestyle, a lifestyle where, frankly, the small stuff is trivial enough not to be worth sweating at all.
