Battling with severe abdominal pain that started after giving birth and the unexplained disappearance of her husband when she needed him the most left Thandi in despair.
From the age of 12, Princess and her younger brother had to collect rotting food from their local supermarket in order to have something to eat. Her mother was pregnant with her third child at that time.
Living with her aunt, who constantly told her that she was not going to amount to anything, left Nompumelelo feeling neglected and she later became suicidal.