Former Skeem Saam actress Pebetsi Nolo Matlaila believes her tumultuous relationship and short-lived marriage to an ex-director of the show cost her her role in the popular South African soapie.
In an emotional interview with Sunday World, Matlaila, who played Mokgadi, said the producer, her ex-husband, was fired from the show because of unprofessional conduct. She believes that she was collateral damage because the powers that be later axed her from the show for no apparent reason.
The thespian said she got married to the producer primarily because she was pregnant, hoping to avoid judgment and familial embarrassment. “I didn’t want to seem like I was just having kids out of wedlock,” she explained.
Matlaila’s marriage to the director, who is the father of her youngest daughter, lasted a mere nine months.
She regretted her decision to wed him because he was abusive, and her association with him derailed her career.
After their marriage ended, the director, whose identity she refused to disclose, was fired. He returned to KwaZulu-Natal, leaving Matlaila to raise their daughter alone.
“The last time I saw him was when I called it quits. I opened a protection order against him, and he told me I’d raise our child with the lobola money he had paid for me,” she recounted.
Matlaila described her harrowing marriage as marked by emotional and physical abuse, particularly during her pregnancy. “He was abusive, especially when drunk or high,” she said. To others, he appeared soft-spoken and gentle, but he was a different person with her.
She recalled a terrifying incident where he smashed their bedroom door while she and her eldest daughter hid inside from him. On another occasion, while heavily pregnant, Matlaila said he threw her down stairs.
Her eldest daughter witnessed the abuse, growing fearful of the monster she once thought was her stepfather.
The actress admitted to enduring the relationship longer than she should have, questioning her decisions. “Getting into that marriage was the biggest mistake of my life,” she said. “I sent out wedding invites four days before the ceremony, hoping he wouldn’t have enough money for lobola negotiations.” But despite that, the wedding went ahead as planned.
Matlaila’s second daughter, now three, remains unaware of her biological father’s identity, believing her older sister’s father is her own. “She doesn’t know her dad, and I don’t know where he is,” Matlaila said, expressing hope that her daughter will one day connect with her
paternal roots.
The actress’s axing from Skeem Saam has left her reflecting on the cost of her personal choices. “I believe I lost a screw back then,” she said, lamenting how her marriage not only endangered her safety but also derailed her career. “I hoped I could learn to love him and that he would change, but he didn’t.”
The actress suspects their personal conflicts spilt into the workplace, ultimately leading to their dismissal from Skeem Saam. “I have a feeling our personal lives affected our workspace,” she said.
Despite the setbacks, Matlaila remains resilient, focusing on her daughters and rebuilding her life, while cautioning others about the dangers of staying in toxic
relationships.
Sunday World reached out to Skeem Saam for comment on Matlaila’s claim about how she lost her job but the production had not responded at the time of publication.
