New Love Has Mandela Beaming Involved In Relationship With Widow Of Mozambique Leader

President Nelson Mandela declared Sunday he is “blooming like a flower” after falling in love again, but he admitted the relationship unsanctioned by marriage is causing him trouble.

His face beaming, Mandela said the love he shares with Graca Machel, widow of former Mozambique President Samora Machel, has brightened his life after so much hardship. Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years for leading the fight against apartheid in South Africa.

“I don’t regret the reverses and setbacks I’ve had because, late in my life, I am blooming like a flower because of the love and support she has given me,” Mandela, 79, said in a television interview with the South African Broadcasting Corp.

His comments marked the first time Mandela publicly has professed his love for Machel. Word about their relationship emerged 1-1/2 years ago.

Mandela, who divorced his wife Winnie in 1996, met Machel in 1990, the year he was released from prison.

Machel, 52, spends her time in South Africa with Mandela and in Maputo, Mozambique’s capital, with her children. Her husband died in a plane crash in 1986. She works on children’s issues for the United Nations.

Leading South African figures including former Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu have complained to the president about his carrying on a relationship without being married.

“People like Archbishop Tutu are making my life very difficult because they feel that I’m not setting a proper example for young people,” Mandela said.

“If you are holding a leading position, you also are the bearer of the traditions which are acceptable to the wide public,” he said. “If you don’t try to maintain high moral standards, then you are unable to attract the trust and confidence of the public.”