Melinda Bam is a former beauty queen who is now a business owner. Her journey to becoming Miss South Africa 2011 was challenging because her life came with its own set of tragedies. Read on to find out more about how she made it through and became who she is today.

Melinda Bam is the educated, sophisticated pageant queen who turned all her weaknesses into strength. Find out more about her life.

Melinda Bam profile

• Birth Name: Melinda de Kock
• Date of Birth: 13th May 1989
• Age: 31 years old
• Place of Birth: Pretoria, South Africa
• Alma mater: University of Pretoria
• Occupation: TV Presenter, motivational speaker, model, author, fashion designer
• Melinda Bam height: 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
• Title: Miss South Africa 2011 and beauty pageant titleholder
• Major competitions: Miss South Africa 2011 (winner) and Miss Universe 2012(Top 10)
• Melinda Bam Instagram: @melindabam

Early life

There is no question that Melinda is stunning and captivates whoever comes across her. Therefore, it comes as a surprise to many that when she was younger, this was far from the case.

She struggled with her self-esteem and tended towards being a tomboy. Her protruding teeth, braces, and acne did her no favour. She felt alienated from her 'friend group' and had a hard time dealing with bullying from them.

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Education

How did she regain her confidence? When she attended the Pretoria High School, she joined the drama club. At that time, she rebuilt her self-confidence and proved her haters wrong.

She attended the Hoërskool Waterkloof, Pretoria High School and got a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing at the University of Pretoria.

Family

Melinda Bam childhood was not devoid of tragedy. When she was just 11 years old, her biological father, Reverend Deon de Kock, committed suicide. This was hard to understand, especially at such a tender age, and it caused her immense pain.

She describes him as an aggravated man who mistreated her mother, Wanda. Her background, characterised by domestic abuse, is what made her a strong woman who fights for the rights of women and children.

Her life took a drastic change for the better when Melinda Bam mother remarried. She and her sister, Melissa, loved their stepdad. Neil Bam became more than just a father to the girls, he saved them. Neil legally adopted them as his daughters, and they treated him as their dad. This was when she legally changed her name to Bam.

Career

She has taken part in pageants, modelling, and TV, among others.

Pageant career

She was a 22-year-old student when she walked off with the Miss South Africa 2011 title after competing against 11 finalists. She received the crown from 2010's Miss S.A Bokang Motjane. This was the moment that thrust her into the limelight. She previously won the Miss Tropika and Miss Waterkloof titles.

Following the win, she went to compete in Las Vegas in Miss Universe 2012 and ended up placing 6th in the competition.

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TV career

In 2014, she began presenting in the popular Afrikaans lifestyle TV show Pasella & Wies Jou Poppie.

The other shows she has been in that solidify her TV presence include:

• Glambition - Season 1
• Miss South Africa - Season 56
• Miss South Africa - Season 55
• Miss South Africa - Season 61
• The Road to Miss South Africa - Season 3
• Tropika Island of Treasure - Season 8 (Maldives)

Career scandals

In 2012, she withdrew from the Miss World Competition, and her replacement was the first princess Remona Moodley.

Withdrawing from such a career-defining competition led to tons of speculation at the time. Some claimed she was pregnant or sick. There was even a rumour that she was scheduled to get her breasts enlarged.

She rose above the rumours and worked hard to build her charity project so the false stories would not negatively impact her career.

Personal life

Adriaan Bergh and Melinda Bam are a couple, and their love story is great. Back in 2008, in their first year at Varsity Stone, Adriaan entered the classroom and saw Melinda for the first time. He whispered to his friend that she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

She would not meet him until four years after this when he joined a yoga class to get to know her. His strategy worked, but the rules of pageants make it so that the contestants do not date. They had to wait until they were former titleholders before they could go to the next level of their relationship.

It is also a fun fact that she burnt their casserole on the first date, and they had to order in.

Adrian Bergh, who is Mr South Africa 2011, and a girl were engaged in November 2013 during a trip to Dubai. Their wedding was one year later, November 2014 at Oakfield Farm in Gauteng, South Africa. Melinda Bam wedding dress was immaculate and looked stunning on her.

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Latest news

She has been building her strength and has gone from a slender beauty queen to a strong woman with abs and toned muscles. Melinda Bam diets are not a thing. She is used to eating for energy, planning meals and snacks, and ensuring she never feels hungry.

That is the story of the shy girl with low self-esteem becoming a symbol of beauty for the South African people. Melinda Bam is an embodiment of someone who turns lemons into lemonade.

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