Television actress Denise Zimba says her marriage to her German husband, Jakob Schlichtig, collapsed because she caught him playing with himself while texting another woman.
She also said Schlichtig refused to buy a plane ticket for her mother to travel to Germany to help her with the kids and instead paid 900 euros for the medical treatment of his sick cat.
Zimba dropped the bombshell in the court papers she filed in the Joburg High Court, where she is opposing Schlichtig’s application for an order to force her to return their two children to Germany, where he lives, claiming that she unlawfully removed them from the country.
In the court papers, which we have seen, Zimba said Schlichtig was not telling the truth about the disintegration of their union and the depression she suffered before she dumped him.
“What led to my depression, amongst other things except cheating, was that he was not helping me at all with [the] children. The second applicant had mentioned many times that I am not a priority to him, and the 2% energy he did was for the children, and that [I] must accept the ‘phase’ we are in.
“I requested him to pay for a flight for my mother to come to Germany and help me with children, he also refused, but he took his cat to the doctor and paid 900 euros,” she stated in the affidavit.
Zimba further accused Schlichtig of having an extramarital affair, saying she found him milking the lizard while texting another woman. She said that when she confronted him about the infidelity, he said he could not be in a marriage that barred him from beating up the bishop.
“The second applicant is indeed cheating. I once found him masturbating while texting another female, and (name withheld) was asleep in the room. During the confrontation, I requested his phone as he was shaking. He voiced that he cannot be in a marriage where he cannot touch himself,” she said in the affidavit.
“The second applicant is emotionally abusing me with words because he does tell me that I am poor and I cannot do anything because I do not have money.
“The second applicant also voiced that l will never get a man better than him, and no man wants a woman with two kids,” she stated in the affidavit.
She further stated that she would not return the children to Germany because that would expose them to physical or psychological harm.
“No one will be looking after the children in Germany because the second applicant is a businessman in Germany and in South Africa, and he is not helping me at all with the children. He even refused to help me by hiring a helper for me,” reads the affidavit.
She said that the minor children were not wrongly removed from Germany, and she was not wrongfully refusing to return them to the country. She said one of the reasons she suffered from depression was because she couldn’t cope alone with the children; hence she came back to SA so that her mother could help her.
“I am unemployed and looking after the children. My mother is unemployed and helping me. No one will be looking after children in Germany.
“In Germany, we rented an apartment. The lease is expiring not long [from now]. In South Africa, we own a house in Cape Town,” she stated.
The former Generations: The Legacy thespian also poured cold water on Schlichtig’s claim that they went to Germany to live there after their wedding.
“We went to Germany temporarily because the second applicant’s mother was sick. The intentions were always to live permanently in South Africa, hence we bought a house in South Africa. My residence permit ( in Germany) is expiring on the 20th day of August 2024 because we went to Germany temporarily.”
Zimba also said living in Germany would negatively affect her career.
She said Schlichtig’s family also did not help her look after the children.
“The family lived only 50 minutes away from our rented place, and only came to see us four times during our stay. Whenever we asked for help, family members were either too busy hiking, or just not interested in stepping in to help, or would make excuses about assisting.
“Since I came to South Africa, I am fine and relieved, and my children are also fine and happy. The second applicant is always allowed to visit children and spend time with them because he frequents … South Africa because he owns businesses in both countries.”
