Behind closed doors
Smanga considers dumping his emotionally and physically abusive girlfriend Zitha when she refuses to get help.
If Zitha (Zoe Mthiyane) doesn’t get help and manage her insecurities, anger and control issues, she risks losing Smanga’s (Moopi Mothibeli) love. She’s been talking over him and physically abusing him since January this year and Zoe explains that he has had enough. “Smanga is desperate to save the relationship but he can’t do it alone. Zitha refuses to participate in therapy sessions and she always reacts with rage when she is called out on her abusive behaviour,” explains the actress. Zitha resorts to volunteering at an orphanage to prove that she is a changed woman but that doesn’t help. “She needs professional help! Zitha’s anger issues won’t heal or go away overnight. She must face them before she pushes a good man like Smanga away,” warns Zoe.
BEATING AROUND THE BUSH
When Zitha started dating Smanga last year September, she vowed that she would never allow another man to hurt her the way her ex-boyfriend Tau (Rapulana Seiphemo) did when he left her at the altar during their wedding ceremony in June 2018. “She was beyond humiliated,” explains the actress. “Zitha believes that if she controls Smanga’s every move, he will never leave her. She expects him to report his daily schedule to her and that puts him on edge. She treats him like a child,” explains Zoe. Because Zitha didn’t take time to reflect on her failed relationship with Tau and she jumped straight into dating Smanga, she takes out her insecurities on him. “Zitha is a perfectionist and she hates feeling like a failure. Tau dumped her in a room full of people, leaving her world in chaos. But that shouldn’t be an excuse for the way that she treats Smanga.”
BITING THE BULLET
Zitha’s frustration and control issues started when Smanga dropped their plans and worked until late to save his family’s advertising business Ezweni. “She wants to be his priority,” says Zoe, but the domestic violence has Smanga at a crossroads about their romance. “He gives Zitha an ultimatum: get help or we are breaking up. That terrifies her! She loves him dearly but she needs to be accountable and stop blaming him for her rage,” explains Zoe. It isn’t difficult for his family to raise eyebrows when Smanga overreacts every time they question him about his bruises. “He is trying to protect Zitha from prison. His family will do more than force him to dump her if they find out. They will make him press charges,” adds Zoe.