Mavis Massey, the youngest of ten siblings, was born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, and grew up in a Methodist home. She pursued nursing training in Cape Town, South Africa from 1986 to 1990, after which she returned to work in Port Elizabeth, and she became a Seventh-day Adventist at the age of 19. She has been married three times, with no children. In 2010, the moved to Wales with her third/current husband.