Durban - When Idols judge Somizi Mhlongo and influencer Mohale Motaung tied the knot in a multimillion-rand wedding in 2020 with the country watching, many were left believing in love again and envious of the fairytale that was unfolding.

But it was not long before cracks started to show in their relationship and the mudslinging continued in a Showmax series tell-all which aired on Thursday. During the episode, Motaung revealed how he was allegedly abused and controlled by the jealous Idols SA judge who wanted him to become a house husband.

Idols Judge Somizi Mhlongo has been accused of wanting to control his estranged husband and for allegedly beating him up while they were still together. Picture: Instagram

The couple has been separated for a while and is in the process of divorce filed by Motaung a year ago. Since then Motaung has been accused of wanting 50% of Mhlongo’s wealth and has been called a gold-digger.

However, Motaung said he never wanted half of Mhlongo’s assets, but that it was Mhlongo who had suggested a division of their joint estate. He said he only wanted to be compensated for the Showmax special wedding episode which the pair had agreed to share the profits from.

“In the first letter that we sent to Somizi on June 25, 2021, I stated that I wanted my clothing, the car he bashed valued at a minimum value of R200000, and I wanted the money for the wedding which belongs to the both of us,” he said.

“I was shocked when he said I wanted 50%. Instead, in his response on 25 July to the letter that we sent out to him, he’s the one who suggested that we go for the division of the joint estate and to my surprise, he then goes on his show and says I asked him for 50% of his assets.” Motaung said their engagement felt rushed as it happened five months into their relationship.

He claimed that the day after the wedding proposal which happened in Paris and was aired on Mhlongo’s reality TV show, Living the Dream with Somizi, Mhlongo asked if the couple could explore by inviting a third person into their bed. The man Mhlongo wanted to invite was his long-time friend that he had once considered dating.

Idols Judge Somizi Mhlongo has been accused of wanting to control his estranged husband and for allegedly beating him up while they were still together. Picture: Instagram

“This all happened very quickly. We had a conversation about marriage a few weeks before the engagement and I think I was very hurt that the conversation that we had was not honoured,” he said. Motaung alleged that Mhlongo had encouraged him to quit his 9-to-5 job when his leave was not approved.

He said Mhlongo wrote an email to his boss behind his back explaining that they were travelling to Paris and Motaung would not miss the trip. “He really wanted me to be a house husband, that was his biggest dream, and when I didn’t allow myself to be in that position or for that to take place, a lot of things started not being okay in that relationship,” he said.

Motaung said that in an attempt to keep him at home, Mhlongo had used his close friend and businessman TT Mbha, to sabotage a job opportunity with a production company. “A big reason why Somizi and TT Mbha are not talking is because Somizi asked TT to go and speak to certain people and tell them not to hire me. “Somizi told me that he went and told TT Mbha to speak to the Fergusons at the time because he was close to them. When I confronted TT about this, he then had to come clean and tell me who exactly told him to do that.

Somizi is angry that TT was not loyal enough to come up with a story.” Speaking of alleged physical abuse, Motaung said that part of his life was “a very dark time”. He said he once flew to Durban for a gig and when he returned found a livid Mhlongo.

“I remember him saying that he needs to mess up my face because this beautiful face is messing things up for him. I remember having to cover my face because the shoes that he was wearing were really going to damage my face.

He started hitting me in the ribs, started hitting my legs, and I couldn’t walk; I crawled down the stairs,” he said. Mhlongo’s team said he was not commenting at this stage.

SUNDAY TRIBUNE