Love, business, Dennis Okari, Nick Ndeda: Betty Kyallo bares it all as she turns 33

Betty Kyallo is inarguably one of the most easily-recognizable faces across the Kenyan celebrity sphere - a thoroughbred TV glamour girl who captured the zeitgeist of the 2010s TV era with the unmissable aura, flair and flamboyance of a mega-star.

Sassy, fun and pleasantly vivacious, this Kamba girl, whose radiant smile and sparkly eyes have enamored the nation for over a decade, still remains one of the most looked up personalities on the Kenyan Google Search for years on end.

Unlike her contemporaries, some of whom have been said to be notoriously aloof, filled with airs and graces and very belligerent, Betty Kyallo is your girl next door - a warm, approachable human with a kind heart, a hearty laughter, genuine smile, a great conversationalist and an all-round, affable darling.

Like Hollywood icon Jennifer Aniston, affectionately dubbed America's sweetheart, Betty Kyallo easily qualifies as Kenya's own sweetheart.

Betty's life has more often than not been clouded by her various scandal-ridden dalliances with high-flying men with whom she's dramatically disentangled, leaving behind a trail of mess, murk and rot.

Betty has lived a, for the most part, romantically tumultuous life with all her failed relationships littering the tabloids and the internet having a field day with the broken pieces of her heart.

The news anchor-turned-entrepreneur, who now runs a host of businesses in Nairobi, from Kilimani to Upper Hill, Ronald Ngala street to God-knows-where else, this week sat down with Citizen Digital as she turned 33 years old to reveal more about her life lessons, love life, failed romances, family, business and more.

At 8am on a Tuesday, we meet the bubbly charmer perched atop a fancy high-chair, head tilted backward as Jeanne, her makeup artist, works wonders on her face.

"I love makeup. I do it almost everyday. I have to always wear makeup because most of the time I'm running around, handling business, meeting clients and I have to look my best. Plus, you know, when people see me out there, they want to see the 'Betty Kyallo' they know and therefore, I have to remain true to their image of me,” she says.

“It's not like I don't look good without it but, you know, it makes you look better and I don't mind it at all. The only days I don't do makeup is maybe Sundays. The rest of the days you'll find me in makeup, because that's who I am as a brand.”

Betty's days are hectic as they revolve around her shuttling between one end of the city to another as she seeks to seal deals, cut cheques, meet clients, ink signatures and basically just be Betty all day.

Her ‘Flair by Betty’ beauty spa, which thunderously stormed into the scene a couple years ago, now located along Rose Avenue, housed in a building aptly named the 'White House', is a flurry of activities as clients walk in and out, looking glam and all spruced-up.

Previously located at the brobdingnagian FCB Mihrab building, Betty moved the business to the current location during the 2020 pandemic.

“We felt like this place was the perfect location. It was just gold, you know, prime property, we have halal rooms for the Muslim clients, a barbershop for the 'budeskos', bigger parking space,” she says.

"We have a mixture of all manner of clients here and I have a fantastic team, everyone is top notch and that's how we've been able to retain clients for all these years. Also, I market the place aggressively and make sure that I'm here almost every day and that really helps with the retention of clients.”

Betty also spoke about her current relationship status, maintaining that she's been single for at least three months now, and that co-parenting with her baby daddy Dennis Okari has never been better.

"Co-parenting has been great. Ivanna loves her daddy and her daddy loves her so much. At first, it was hard to co-parent with this person you used to be in the same house with, married to and all that. I have to say that for many parents co-parenting successfully…it’s not easy to get there. For us it was like a journey; we go to functions with Dennis and sit together, there is no bad blood,” she narrates.

“We're actually friends and we call each other, you know. Sometimes I can't pick up Ivanna and he does it for me, it's so easy. At first, it was dramatic and ugly, it's very different when you're doing it from a public point of view, like the whole world is watching you, so it was hard at first.”

The voguish media personality also touched on her love for cars - especially speed – and her handiness when it comes to handling cars and maintenance, the Ringtone Instagram diss, her messy breakups and the madness that comes with it and more.

"I love cars so much. My current car, this Mercedes E350 is very special to me, I'm really attached, it was like my dream car - like it was like success for me a few years ago. I love driving to my sister's house in Tigoni. I also love driving down to Nakuru, Naivasha...fun places,” she says.

Citizen Digital later wound up at her barbershop at Upper Hill dubbed 'After Shave', a deluxe uptown kinyozi she's been running for the last one year.

On the question of her male clients who come for a shave, Betty admits that they have hit on her almost all the time.

"I've been in this industry for so long. I've met so many people who hit on me all the time. I've had very many interesting experiences with people who come here and try to showcase their financial muscle. They come in and they want to tip my employees, throw money around,” she says.

On dating her clients?

"I've gone for a date with a client whom I got to know over time, you know, just a coffee date, nothing much, but I can't say I have ever dated a client," she says.

Betty also touched on adding more kids but maintained that she would only do that if and when she found the right man for her daughter, Ivanna.

"I don't have plans to have a baby now, but Ivanna has been pressurising me, anataka mtoto, anataka mtoto... She's been throwing hints the last three years, but I'm still searching for the right daddy, who can be daddy to Ivanna and daddy to the new one, so until I get to that point, I'm not looking to have a baby and raise them alone again,” she states.

Betty's day with Citizen Digital, a culmination of her 33rd birthday and touching on all facets of her enthralling life, will be a three-part series that will see her divulge on topics she hasn't touched before, pour out her love for daughter Ivanna and her mother and dive deep into entrepreneurship and more.