A top actress and musician has been accused by her estranged husband and TV producer of using their children as a stick to punish him for the collapse of their six-year marriage.
The businessman turned actor filed an application at the South Gauteng High Court in Joburg on Tuesday claiming that his wife has reneged on a settlement agreement signed by both parties and was now denying him access to and contact with their two children.
The legal tussle has also lifted the lid on shocking allegations surrounding the deterioration of their marriage.
In her papers, the actress claimed the TV producer has had numerous adulterous relationships with his female colleagues. The husband fought back, revealing in his papers that his wife kicked him out of their matrimonial home and also alleged that she at times vanished for days, only to return in the mornings to take their kids to school.
He said he was only able to move back into their house and used a spare bedroom after the intervention of their respective attorneys. The man also told the court that as a result of the divorce, their children were now living a different lifestyle, implying their quality of life has been compromised.
He said their children were now living at his wife's home with her, their grandmother and a helper. As a result, they were sharing a bed while they previously each had their own bedroom and a full-time nanny.
The film director also decried that the children have been taken out of a top private school and enrolled into a crowded public school, adding that they were now forced to walk to school because their mother no longer drives them to school as was the case previously.
He also complained that the children walked past a dangerous prison on their way to and from school and there was also a taxi rank opposite the school.
According to the agreement between the two parties, which Sunday World has seen, it was agreed that they will co-parent while the children will reside with their mother.
Part of the agreement, as per the settlement reached, was on the future of their multimillion-rand property. They agreed that their matrimonial home should be sold and the proceeds be used to buy two smaller properties in the same vicinity to allow the children to continue living in the same area and attend the same school.
However, the businessman alleged that, instead, the actress had reported him to the police who tried to serve him with a protection order when he went to visit his children.
"In a state of utter shock and confusion I refused to accept any documents as I have done nothing wrong and merely wanted to see the minor children as set out in our agreement," he said in his affidavit.
He has also accused his wife of going against their agreement to leave the children out of the limelight, alleging she was intending to use them in her music video.
He said he was concerned by the actress's decision, noting that he feared that exposing the children to the entertainment industry would turn them into "mini-celebrities". Responding to the allegations, the TV actress said her husband was "a pathological liar". She said she had since filed an application "opposing his nonsense".
"I have never denied him access to his children. He is lying," she told Sunday World.
She denied ever kicking him out of their matrimonial home, saying the man was kicked out by the police because he had a pending police case for malicious damage to property.
The TV producer refused to comment on the matter, saying it was before the court.