LEFT high and dry, Nodolly Kgalanyane, of Bloemfontein has learnt the hard way not to trust too much.
The 36-year-old mother of two agreed to save the spousal assets through an amicable divorce, only to have the tables turned against her.
"I blindly agreed, now I am left with nothing," Kgalanyane said.
She confessed toSowetan that she is a spendthrift, and that her former husband had been providing everything for his family.
"I was a committed wife, my ex-husband provided everything. I never complained," Kgalanyane said.
She said she would even take out bank loans and spend the money on clothes, hair and restaurant meals.
The debt began to build up, and Sekano Kgalanyane, her formerhusband, was concerned about their assets. They owned four flats in Bloemfontein which they rented out.
Because they were married in community of property, he feared that they would lose the properties if she failed to repay her piling debt, which was already running into thousands of rands.
They then decided to hatch a scheme to reverse their marriage by signing a prenuptial agreement.
Their lawyer told them that the process could take longer in court and advised them to file for a divorce, which would take up to six weeks.
"I was never quite involved in the actual filing because I trusted Sekano," she said.
When the divorce was finalised, and Sekano agreed to continue to support his family as stated in the decree, the unemployed Nodolly said she soon realised that he was not keen to marry her again.
She did not want to contest any part of the estate because she believed they would remarry.
She said her ex-husband, a senior manager at a post office, also owned two houses.
She said: "He kicked me out of the house with the children. Now he has everything, while I have nothing."
She said she was shocked when she later read the decree and discovered that Sekano had "lied" about the reasons for the divorce.
Nodolly said: "In it he said we constantly fought, that I abused him emotionally and financially and abused alcohol, which was a lie."
According to the decree, Sekano agreed to pay school fees for their two kids, clothing, bond repayments, a house keeper, vehicle repayments and groceries, which amounted to more than R22000 a month.
Nodolly said Sekano only paid the children's school fees.
Asked for comment, Sekano said he was not prepared to discuss the decree over the phone.
Attorney Tumi Mokoena advised Nodolly to seek recourse through the courts.
He said when a divorcing couple is married in community of property, the estate is divided between the parties.
"Sitting and planning to dissolve a marriage is against the Public Morality Act. Their lawyer acted illegally," Mokoena said.
He said the court could declare the contract null and void.
"I believe she can get recourse," Mokoena said.
'HE TRICKED ME INTO A DIVORCE'
LEFT high and dry, Nodolly Kgalanyane, of Bloemfontein has learnt the hard way not to trust too much.
The 36-year-old mother of two agreed to save the spousal assets through an amicable divorce, only to have the tables turned against her.
"I blindly agreed, now I am left with nothing," Kgalanyane said.
She confessed toSowetan that she is a spendthrift, and that her former husband had been providing everything for his family.
"I was a committed wife, my ex-husband provided everything. I never complained," Kgalanyane said.
She said she would even take out bank loans and spend the money on clothes, hair and restaurant meals.
The debt began to build up, and Sekano Kgalanyane, her formerhusband, was concerned about their assets. They owned four flats in Bloemfontein which they rented out.
Because they were married in community of property, he feared that they would lose the properties if she failed to repay her piling debt, which was already running into thousands of rands.
They then decided to hatch a scheme to reverse their marriage by signing a prenuptial agreement.
Their lawyer told them that the process could take longer in court and advised them to file for a divorce, which would take up to six weeks.
"I was never quite involved in the actual filing because I trusted Sekano," she said.
When the divorce was finalised, and Sekano agreed to continue to support his family as stated in the decree, the unemployed Nodolly said she soon realised that he was not keen to marry her again.
She did not want to contest any part of the estate because she believed they would remarry.
She said her ex-husband, a senior manager at a post office, also owned two houses.
She said: "He kicked me out of the house with the children. Now he has everything, while I have nothing."
She said she was shocked when she later read the decree and discovered that Sekano had "lied" about the reasons for the divorce.
Nodolly said: "In it he said we constantly fought, that I abused him emotionally and financially and abused alcohol, which was a lie."
According to the decree, Sekano agreed to pay school fees for their two kids, clothing, bond repayments, a house keeper, vehicle repayments and groceries, which amounted to more than R22000 a month.
Nodolly said Sekano only paid the children's school fees.
Asked for comment, Sekano said he was not prepared to discuss the decree over the phone.
Attorney Tumi Mokoena advised Nodolly to seek recourse through the courts.
He said when a divorcing couple is married in community of property, the estate is divided between the parties.
"Sitting and planning to dissolve a marriage is against the Public Morality Act. Their lawyer acted illegally," Mokoena said.
He said the court could declare the contract null and void.
"I believe she can get recourse," Mokoena said.
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