By Rorisang Modiba
- Pebetsi Nolo Matlaila said she was fired from Skeem Saam shortly after her abusive husband, a director on the show, lost his job for bad behaviour.
- She said he once pushed her down the stairs while she was pregnant and broke their bedroom door while she and her daughter hid inside.
Former Skeem Saam actress Pebetsi Nolo Matlaila says her life fell apart after marrying one of the show’s directors.
Pebetsi, who played Mokgadi on the popular SABC 1 soapie, said her marriage only lasted nine months, and it was hell from the start.
“He was especially abusive when he was drunk or using drugs,” she told Sunday World.
In one incident, she said he broke down their bedroom door while she and her older daughter hid inside. In another, he pushed her down the stairs while she was heavily pregnant.
Pebetsi said she married him only because she was pregnant and did not want to be judged for having a child outside of marriage.
But soon after he was fired from the show for misbehaving at work, she was also removed from the cast. She believes she lost her job because of her link to him.
“My daughter was scared of him even though other people saw him as quiet and kind,” she said.
Eventually, Pebetsi got a protection order, and he moved back to KwaZulu-Natal. She has not seen him since.
Now, she is raising their three-year-old daughter alone. The child believes her sister’s father is her own dad.
“I don’t know where he is,” said Pebetsi. “But I hope one day she’ll be able to know her real roots.”
Pictured above: Pebetsi Nolo Matlaila and Eric Macheru.
Image source: @pebetsimatlaila
