Wife will have to trim fat

A WOMAN who is used to the good life will have to tighten her belt after she told the court she needed her estranged husband to contribute R45 000 a month to her monthly expenses, which she estimated to be R137 818.67 a month.

Her application was denied.

She told the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg that while she earned R134 621.94 a month working for an international company, after tax, pension and medical aid contributions she only took home R 81 647.37 a month.

This, she said, left her with a significant shortfall, which her husband had to make up in monthly maintenance to her, pending the finalisation of their divorce. She did, however, admit that from April to December last year, she also made money from being “an influencer” on social media and was able to save R90 000 a month.

But the mother of 3-year-old twins said things were different then, as she still lived in the marital home, drove her husband’s company Volvo and was able to use his credit card as it suited her.

She had since moved out of the family home into a two-bedroom flat in an affluent Johannesburg suburb, for which she had to fork out R35 000 a month. She also had to buy a second-hand luxury vehicle for which she had to pay R679 000. This left her with a monthly shortfall, the woman told the court.

The husband, on the other hand, was paying R20 000 a month towards the twins, who divide their time between the two parents. He also paid all their other expenses, including more than R15 800 a month in school fees.

Apart from this, he happily paid for their nanny and for the wife’s two housekeepers (totalling more than R27 000 a month). But he drew the line at paying the wife monthly maintenance, as he said she was more than able to financially take care of herself.

He told the court his wife was not being frank about the additional income she received as an “influencer on social media” and he objected to the fact that her boyfriend was living with her rent-free in the flat.

Acting Judge Sarita Liebenberg found that the boyfriend’s monthly contributions towards the occupation of the flat ought to be no less than R13 707. “This amount stands to be deducted from the applicant’s list of expenses,” the judge said.

Looking at the expenses, the judge concluded that the reasonable monthly expenses of the wife and the children were about R86 118.

Taking into account all the expenses the husband paid for – such as the nanny and schooling – the judge said the wife earned more than enough to cover hers and the children’s reasonable monthly expenses.

The husband was ordered to continue paying what he did at present.