According to Statistics South Africa, most South Africans get divorced in their 40s. But for one older woman, a divorce later in life left her struggling to get any support from her ex-husband.
While her husband remarried, she was forced to beg for maintenance and get support from her children in the United Kingdom.
On 21 October, she got justice when Justice J Cloete of the Western Cape High Court ordered the ex-husband to pay back R682 585.52 in arrears maintenance.
divorce leaves woman struggling
According to the judgement, the couple got divorced in 2019, when the woman would have been in her early 60s.
In the initial divorce decree, the husband was ordered to pay his now-ex-wife R16 000 a month in maintenance and pay for her medical aid.
The amount would increase with inflation.
He was to pay her this for 9 ½ years or until her death, remarriage or cohabitation with a partner for more than 6 months.
The ex-husband stops paying
In June 2020, the ex-husband reduced his R16 652 payment to R10 000.
Then, according to the court order, he stopped paying maintenance on time.
And for the 10 months from October 2021 to July 2022, he only managed to make two payments totalling R18 000.
This prompted the ex-wife to approach the court for relief in July 2022.
In that case, the court ordered him to pay R266 908 in maintenance arrears and his ex-wife’s legal costs.
In the current court battle, the man claims he could only afford to make the arrears payment because of a private loan from his current wife.
The exes fight over money
Later in October 2022, the ex-husband approached the Simonstown Maintenance Court to ask that his maintenance be reduced.
He failed to show up.
However, from October 2022 until March 2023, he paid maintenance without incident.
Then he stopped. For 7 months, he paid his ex-wife nothing.
That changed in November 2023 when he paid her R5 000 and continued to pay her R5 000 sporadically.
In December 2025, the ex-wife approached the court to execute a writ on his assets for the R614 056 he owed.
She successfully attached a R28 352.69 credit in his FNB account.
In response, the man approached the Western Cape High Court in February 2026, asking to set aside the attachment.
The judge analyses the ex-husband’s finances
In his judgment, Cloete highlighted that the man didn’t actively pursue reducing his maintenance obligations for 4 of the 7 years the couple had been divorced.
He also said the man’s affidavits weren’t sufficient to prove his income had declined after the divorce.
Instead, the judge relied on the unaudited financials from the man’s Closed Corporation.
These documents proved he was getting a large salary from the business.
2019: R1 045 991
2020: R1 017 480 or R2 025 479 (figures differ)
2021: R890 993
2022: R891 898
2023: R897 575
2024: R900 000
The business also covered his personal expenses like car payments, home loan repayments, and personal insurance. These total R33 800 a month.
A home he owns in Lakeside is valued at R3.6 million, and he received a personal tax refund of R72 155.33 in July 2025.
At the time of their divorce, he owed R1 million on the home but currently owes R259 763.57 on the property.
Judgment is served
Cloete highlighted the man’s “economy with the truth” about his finances and health, which made his version of events unreliable.
Cloete sentenced the man to 90 days’ direct imprisonment, wholly suspended as long as he maintains his repayments.
And ordered him to pay R682 585.52 and R5 987.42 in maintenance arrears, plus her attorney’s fees.