Just as everyone thought Amor Vittone and Joost van der Westhuizen’s marriage was heading for a peaceable, quiet ending in the divorce court someone’s thrown a spanner in the works.
It was widely known the former Springbok rugby player wanted to save their marriage and that it was the singer who had doubts. Then, out of the blue, Joost sued Amor for divorce a few days ago.
And the storm clouds keep gathering. Amor has received an anonymous letter threatening her with public humiliation if she doesn’t take Joost back.
When Amor returned from a holiday to visit her sister Ilana, a doctor, in Canada she looked happier and more relaxed than anyone had seen her in years. Perhaps this new-found contentment led Joost to believe Amor might have a bit on the side.
He gained access to her computer or cellphone with correspondence between her and a man she met in Canada, a confidante of the singer’s says.
What he found was perfectly innocent, she says. “You can’t call it a flirtation. It’s not an affair either. He’s just a friend who’s giving her a bit of a boost, that’s all.
“What happened has made her doubt herself. She had no self-image left. She thought she was ugly. And when she came back from Canada she was blossoming again. If that’s because someone told her she’s beautiful then it’s something she deserves.”
Even before the sex video surfaced Joost had suspicions about Amor having an affair with a neighbour, the friend says. “I think he even had her watched but in the end his allegations came to nothing.”
She says Joost also arrived home drunk on several occasions. This upset Amor terribly because after the video debacle he’d promised to give up drinking. “When that happened it felt to Amor as if he’d cheated on her again. It was the final straw.
“It’s true that these days they communicate only through their lawyers,” their friend says.
Neither Amor nor Joost is prepared to comment on the pending divorce.
Read the full article in the YOU of 19 August 2010