Eve D’Souza: A day in the life of 'Varshita' actress

Who is Eve D’Souza now?

I am an introvert living an extrovert’s life. Contrary to Varshita, who I play on TV, I am by nature reserved and prefer a quiet, simple life.

I avoid conflict, which is not always healthy or helpful. I think one of my biggest flaws is being a people pleaser, which I am definitely working on.

When I compare who I am today in my 40’s to who I was in my 20’s, it hits me how worlds apart we are! I still had a lot to learn in my 20’s about working through my insecurities and fears.

I was a mess emotionally but I feel it was inevitable. I experienced a horrific and traumatising carjacking and rape attack at 25. It made me build up my walls even higher. To this day I still do not trust or let people in easily.

Do you believe you are in a better place today?

At 42, I feel grounded and centered. I am a lot surer of myself, even though I have my own quirky way of working or accomplishing goals. I have confidence in my abilities.

I do not seek outside validation as much, whether it is through social media, my lifestyle, or what family and friends think of me (good or bad). It is a very dangerous place to be when you look to others to approve what we do or who we are.

What do you do for a living?

I am the co-founder of Moonbeam Productions alongside the phenomenal TV Producer and my dear friend Lucy Mwangi.

In the past 10 years, we have produced and developed shows such as Travel Diaries, Mentality, Auntie Boss, Varshita and Njoro wa Uba.

You had some new projects lined up for 2021, tell us about that?

My husband and I relocated to Dubai at the end of 2020. It is when I decided to focus on online courses and work towards creating content for YouTube.

I figured I would be able to travel to Kenya when an acting role came up. I did not expect that to happen this year! It was very special for me to play alongside Jimmy Gathu and Sanaipei Tande on the TV series Kina.

Also, Moonbeam has just wrapped up the production of its first-ever film, which we are so excited about. Look out for it.

What is the experience of living in Dubai?

My husband, Simon, consults in oil and gas and his company office is based in Dubai. When the pandemic made travel difficult, we made the decision to relocate. I never thought I would love living in

Dubai as much as I do. I was apprehensive at first as I thought it would be too ‘glitz and glam’ and a superficial type of lifestyle that I was very uncomfortable adapting to.

I am pleasantly surprised at how comfortable, but down to earth, our life is here. The move has also had a positive effect on my mindset, I am now very keen on health and fitness, self-development, reading and studying online.

I appreciate the break from filming non-stop, so I can for once focus on learning and other things I am passionate about.

What do you love about living in Dubai?

I will be honest here, as much as I will always love Kenya, for the first time in my entire life, I feel safe. That is the greatest gift Dubai has given me.

I feel a lot more relaxed and this has impacted my well-being in many ways. Following the attack in my 20’s, I had nightmares right up until mid-last year. They have stopped for now and I am working on fully healing from that experience.

You got married last year in a very private and intimate event, what was your favourite thing about the day?

Simon and I had initially wanted a destination wedding in 2020 and thought it was a great idea. Then we started planning it in January and February of 2020 and realised we both felt so stressed and miserable about it.

As much as I have been on radio and TV, I honestly do not like being the centre of attention; we wanted the day to be about us and our union, not a big complicated production.

We cancelled the plans for the wedding and told our family and friends we had decided to do the civil ceremony at Sheria House and then go on a five-week honeymoon.

Then Covid-19 hit. We did have the civil ceremony, which was a lot nicer than I had imagined it would be. I loved how stress-free and how present I was on the day, it really felt very special.

We even had time for a couples massage in the afternoon after the celebratory lunch. I would recommend it to any couple who does not enjoy the circus of a big wedding.

How did you and Simon meet?

We met on a dating app! In early 2018, I told myself I needed to step out of my comfort zone if I wanted my dating life to improve. I just found it very difficult to meet a man I could see a future with.

Maybe I was not ready and had to work through my own baggage or maybe it is just really difficult to date in Nairobi. But I had had enough. I have always wanted companionship, over anything else.

 Someone I could share my life with. So even though I knew I was in the public eye, I determined to try something different. I signed up and started swiping right.

We matched on the first day. We chatted via text on the second day and he made me laugh so hard, it felt unexpectedly comfortable. By day three, we had gone on our first date. We dated for a month before making it official. And the rest as they say is history.

You also got married later than the societal expected 20s, what do you believe has been the blessings of the wait?

I was 41 when I got married, and Simon was the same age. Most men are advised to wait to get married until they feel ready, whether that is maturity, financial stability or until they simply feel comfortable with themselves.

Women are not granted the same privilege. The pressure to settle down for women starts in our 20’s and if you hit 30 without a proposal you can be made to feel like you missed your moment. Luckily my family has never pressured me, they understood the importance of marrying for the right reasons.