The actress ex-wife of an internationally acclaimed DJ has detailed how she helped build his career while hers stalled due to his unease with kissing scenes as they battled over their R100 million estate.

The former couple finalised their separation last Friday when Acting Judge Mongezi Ntanga of the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg granted the decree of divorce. Their identities cannot be revealed because they have minor children.

She told the court that her ex-husband promised that when his career was up and running, he would help chase her dreams and ambition of being an international performer and undertook to use his influence to assist her.

The suggestion was that she should stop working for a while and look after their home.

Court documents detailed that after their traditional wedding in 2011 her ex-husband became very uncomfortable with her line of work.

The court heard that prior to the celebration of their union he was proud that she was an actress but this changed after the ceremony.

According to the woman, her ex-husband was no longer comfortable with her taking roles with kissing scenes and her mother advised her to respect her husband.

She testified that at some point she became rebellious and took a job that had one kissing scene but the bulk of the time she did not take any jobs because it made her fight with her ex-husband and she decided to keep peace and work towards their marriage.

The court also heard testimony from the woman that they started having difficulties in their marriage as her ex-husband had extra-marital affairs resulting in him having children outside of their marriage.

Both confirmed in court that their union had irretrievably broken down and that there were no prospects of restoring it to a normal marriage relationship.

The man disputed his ex-wife’s version that they were married by customary marriage and insisted that the only time that he had ever been married to her was through a civil marriage.

This is despite evidence presented in court that R70,000 lobola was paid – R62,000 in the first meeting and the R8,000 balance later.

He said around 2010/11 and in their personal capacities they entered into an “explicit verbal, alternatively, tacit, further alternatively, implied agreement” to, in due course, enter into a civil marriage.

Prior to entering into civil marriage they agreed that they would execute an antenuptial contract in terms of which they would be being married out of community of property with the exclusion of the accrual system, according to the man.

“That, for the sake of the parties’ respective families and more specifically their parents, the parties will participate in a traditional ceremony where lobola is exchanged, and certain traditional rights are followed,” he explained.

Acting Judge Ntanga ruled in the actress’s favour, finding that the customary law marriage they entered was valid, in community of property and of profit and loss.

“I find that the customs necessary for a valid customary marriage, particularly the Zulu customs, were performed. The parties stayed together before and after the customary rites were performed,” reads the 69-page judgment.

In terms of the divorce order, parental responsibilities and rights pertaining to their two minor children were awarded to both jointly, subject to several provisos.

The multi-award winning DJ and music producer was ordered to pay maintenance for the minor children of R25,000 a month per child and this will escalate annually and until the children are self-supporting.

He must also pay just over R67,000 in monthly spousal maintenance to his ex-wife until her death or re-marriage, whichever occurs first, and which will escalate every year on the anniversary of the court order at a rate equal to the average rate of the CPI for the preceding twelve months, the judgment declared.

The ex-wife, who initiated divorce proceedings, had demanded R500,000 a month until her death or remarriage, and which would have been inclusive of the two minor children’s claim for maintenance and support.

She justified her demands, stating that she is currently a freelance actress and that this varied from once a year to working five times a year, one short start project or one six-month project.

The thespian said she was unable to sustain herself the way her ex-husband could and was now older and the roles were not always available for an older female.

She said R500,000 a month would be sufficient for both minor children and her.

However, she later amended her particulars of claim and demanded that her ex-husband pay maintenance for their children of R40,000 a month and R80,000 monthly spousal maintenance until her death or re-marriage, whichever occurs first.

Explaining the rationale for her demands and luxurious lifestyle in court, the actress said she used to get shopping sprees of thousands of rands, euros and US dollars and used to purchase the best of everything and lived a life of luxury.

She said they purchased designer furniture and gave an example of a couch that they bought for R80,000 and when they went shopping, they would spend about R400,000.

Her ex-husband paid for everything, she had a monthly stipend, and he had a bank card for them in which he loaded R1m every year so that she could spend the money on odd things and each time she needed money he would deposit it into the account.

In their home, they had many cars which they constantly changed such as a Bentley, a Maserati and a Mercedes-Benz, which she described as having suicide doors and its rims cost R200,000. She gave evidence that there was constant circulation of luxury cars and she drove every single one of them and her ex-husband considered the vehicles to be hers.

At some point they had to park some of the cars outside as there were two vehicles in the garage, three in the parking bay and one would be parked in parallel.

She estimated the value of their estate to be about R100m.

According to the marriage contract the couple signed in December 2016 (which the court has now rejected as invalid), the DJ would have only needed to pay his ex-wife a once-off settlement of R4 million to fulfill all his financial obligations when they divorced. This contract has now been thrown out by the court.

He would have paid the spousal maintenance through five equal instalments of R800,000.

Additionally, he told the court that they entered into a civil marriage and that prior to the civil marriage they agreed to execute an antenuptial contract in terms of which they would be married out of community of property with the exclusion of the accrual system.

In his counterclaim, he wanted the terms of the antenuptial contract entered into between the parties declared valid and enforceable, pay R20,000 monthly maintenance for the children and to be responsible for all necessary school expenses and medical expenses as well as buy monthly groceries and clothing for the children.

loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za

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