Keeping options open
Lalage’s emotional breakdown gives her cheating husband time to rethink his affair and renewing his vows.
Hendrik (Gérard Rudolf) breathes a sigh of relief when Lalage (Elma Postma) has a panic attack minutes before their vow renewal. She calls off the ceremony, leaving her husband secretly “beyond happy”, says Gérard. Walking down the aisle to reaffirm his love for Lalage makes Hendrik uncomfortable as his heart is half with his sister-in-law lover Wendy (Michelle Beling). “He isn’t willing to stand in front of Lalage, their children and their friends only to lie. He would feel like a fraud,” explains Gérard. Lalage hoped that renewing their vows would heal their fractured marriage after discovering his roving eye in December. It has done the opposite and “the stress only drifts them further apart. Hendrik believes this is a sign that he should get a divorce. He isn’t going to leave Lalage in this state as it’s his fault. He isn’t that much of a monster,” says the actor.
ONE OR THE OTHER
Hendrik plays the doting husband despite his mind being with his mistress. “He blames himself for Lalage’s disorder and wants to help her fight her condition,” says Gérard. Their daughter
Anja (Lee Visagie), who knows about her dad’s affair, snaps at Hendrik out of Lalage’s earshot, ordering him to admit his feelings for Wendy and stop hurting his wife. “This affair has shattered the Lategans. Anja isn’t used to seeing her mom this tense and emotionally strained,” explains Gérard. Anja blames her aunt too but Hendrik bears the brunt of her rage, driving a wedge between the father and daughter. “Hendrik loves his children and he doesn’t want to lose his family. He is torn between Wendy and the rest of his family,” says the actor with a sigh.
EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER
Wendy’s conscience weighs heavily on her too and after two months of not accepting what she has done, Michelle says that her character realises her role in Lalage’s downfall. Even then, she isn’t willing to stop. “If she could turn back time, Wendy would stop herself from falling for her brother-in-law. But she’s in love.” The affair wasn’t planned and Gérard says that Lalage is partly to blame: “They found solace in each other when Lalage pushed them away to focus on her job. They’re in a dreadful predicament that won’t end well.” While Hendrik is waiting for the right time to tell Lalage, Wendy and Anja may not be that patient.