By Rorisang Modiba
- Zoe Mthiyane says she ignored red flags with Lebo M, alleging he isolated her during pregnancy and tried to have her admitted to a rehabilitation centre.
- Lebo M rejected Mthiyane’s narcissism claims and accused her ex Robert Marawa of failing to support his child financially. Both Mthiyane and Marawa have denied this.
Zoe Mthiyane says she knew something was wrong from the start. She ignored it anyway. Now the story she told on a podcast has set off a very public fight — and dragged in a third person who says he wants no part of it.
Mthiyane, an actress and singer, spoke on the “Engineer Your Life with Lungelo M” podcast this week about her past relationship with Grammy Award-winning producer and composer Lebo M, whose full name is Lebohang Morake. She described it as one of the most painful experiences of her life.
She said Lebo M pursued her while she was living in Australia, flying between the two countries to win her over. She had doubts from the beginning.
“I went against my gut. My gut kept saying no. He looked good on paper,” she said.
Mthiyane alleged that what began as intense affection slowly became controlling. During her pregnancy with their daughter Lulonke, she said her phone was regularly taken from her, cutting her off from family and friends. She also alleged that false information was spread about her and that there were attempts to have her admitted to a rehabilitation centre. She said professionals who assessed her found no evidence of addiction.
She said therapy helped her understand what she had been through. She and Lebo M got engaged in 2015 and split in 2016. Before the relationship ended, she said she warned actress Pretty Samuels not to get involved with Lebo M. Samuels later married him in 2022. Their divorce was finalised in 2024 after a string of court battles.
Lebo M responded on the same podcast. He did not address the specific allegations directly. Instead he challenged the host for allowing the word “narcissist” to go unchallenged.
“There is a horrible tendency in society and with broadcasters that don’t interrogate certain words that are used; narcissism,” he said.
He argued that allowing such claims to stand without challenge harms his reputation and his business.
“If you continue to allow such narratives and such usage of words and don’t interrogate them, realise that you are adding and amplifying a negative towards me, my dignity as a human being and my business brand, Lebo M,” he said.
Lebo M then turned his attention to sports broadcaster Robert Marawa, who is the father of Mthiyane’s son Awande. Lebo M claimed publicly that Marawa had failed to contribute financially to his child’s upbringing and that he had covered those costs himself while he was with Mthiyane.
Marawa denied the claims, dismissing them as a bid for attention. Mthiyane also pushed back, defending Marawa and accusing Lebo M of lying and using Marawa’s public profile to push his own narrative.
Pictured above: Lebo M and Zoe Mthiyane.
Image source: File
