‘Not a day or moment goes by that I don’t think of him’: Bianca Naidoo on life without Riky Rick

Bianca Naidoo opened up about adjusting to life after losing her partner Rikhado “Riky Rick” Makhado, who took his own life on February 23 2022 at the age of 34.

In a recent sit down on Wisdom & Wellness, Bianca said she felt she was in survival mode after Riky died. 

“Riky’s passing definitely made me realise I have been in survival mode for the longest time and not necessarily paying attention to things that are important. Last year brought me to a point where I’m like I can’t do this anymore. I need to start living and also start being honest with yourself and being honest about your feelings,” she said. 

Bianca said she was uncertain what grief meant to her as she experiences good moments and times when she totally shuts down. 

“It's been tough, it really has been. It feels like it's new and you're starting again and I honestly take one day at a time trying to figure it out. For me in a lot of day-to-day things, I did it anyway. There's not a day that goes by or a moment that goes by that I don't think of him in things I'm doing. Every day is having to go through that and you just have to go through it.”

During a previous interview on Metro FM, Bianca spoke about the mental health struggles she faced privately. 

Bianca said she felt it was external factors that led to his suicide because she and the family provided constant support to him through his battle with drug addiction.

“He wanted to do more than he was doing, he wanted to make a difference. When I look at it now, I feel like he probably didn't feel like he was doing enough and that was definitely something that hurt, with a lot of the things that have been happening in the country and in the industry. Those are the things that didn't sit well with him. It's a whole lot of worldly things that he struggled with.

“Riky did struggle with addiction and had a very good run and then, unfortunately, struggled again towards the end. That was hard for him to feel like he kind of failed, but I have to say we held him close through all those moments. We gave him so much love, even though he felt he wasn't worthy of it probably.”