Grasping at straws
All hell breaks loose when Lesiba gets to the bottom of his wife Mmakoena’s affair with Castro.
The day that social worker Lesiba (Matli Mohapeloa) has dreaded arrives and his lawyer wife Mmakoena (Dineo Langa) is discharged from hospital after she was shot by the police at the protest in late July. “The tension between the couple is palpable when they arrive home,” says Matli, whose character is avoiding eye contact and engaging in conversations with Mmakoena. That’s because while she was in an induced coma, he went through her phone and stumbled across an inappropriate SMS from Mmakoena’s former sidepiece Castro (Aubrey Poo). “The message sent a dagger through Lesiba’s heart as they alluded to Mmakoena and Castro recently spending the night together. Lesiba thought that their affair ended in 2021,” explains Matli, whose character doesn’t waste time in confronting his wife. “However, the truth is too much for Lesiba to bare and the couple drift apart,” says Matli.
BROKEN TRUST
As difficult as it is to talk about the indiscretion, Mmakoena does come clean. As it turns out, she dumped Castro after Lesiba initially discovered their tryst, but in a moment of weakness earlier this year, she had sex with Castro again. However, she didn’t tell Lesiba because she didn’t want to hurt him and worse, she feared that he might divorce her. So she put the affair behind her and recommitted to their marriage. “Mmakoena insists that she has cut ties with Castro. She begs Lesiba for a second chance, but the damage is done,” adds Matli.
The revelation couldn’t have come at a worse time as Mmakoena is recovering still. While Lesiba would rather move out of their home to clear his head, he loves her and he wants to be at her side as she recuperates. “Lesiba is passive aggressive about the entire situation, and he takes every chance to tell his wife how disappointed he is that she’s betrayed his trust once more.”
THE LAST STRAW?
In the past, Lesiba was quick to overlook Mmakoena’s errors, like when he learnt that she’d had a child when she was a teen and hid it from him, or when he found out that she was falling for Castro. “Lesiba is finding it difficult to forgive her because she keeps lying to him and repeating the same mistake,” says Matli, adding, “If Lesiba and Mmakoena want to survive, they will have to learn to compromise and communicate.” But after it was reported that Dineo has left her role as Mmakoena and exits in September, Lesiba and Mmakoena’s marriage might come to a dramatic end…