Paula freaks at Altie’s baby secret
Paula gets unexpected news from Altus’s doctor – he can’t have kids, even if he wanted to.
The heartbreak never seems to end for Altus and Paula (Heino Schmitt and Diaan Lawrenson). At the end of December 2015, they had an ugly fight because Altus made it clear that he doesn’t want more kids as the pain of losing their unborn child in 2013 still cuts too deep. But on Wednesday 6 January, the real reason for his decision comes out – and it’s made worse by the fact that Paula has to hear it from Altie’s doctor, not him!
COMING CLEAN
Their strained marriage is on thin ice (again) and on Wednesday 6 January, it cracks when Paula talks to their GP on the phone, only to hear that Altus had a vasectomy. Diaan says that her character is speechless. “Two realities hit her. Firstly, Altus lied to her and kept his operation a secret. Secondly, if the op can’t be reversed, their chances of having kids are over.”
The next day, Thursday 7 January, the two get into a heated scrap and Altus tells Paula about the procedure and that he had it done after their divorce was finalised in April 2015 – at that stage, he was depressed and not thinking clearly about his future, Altus says. Paula tries to understand his state of mind but her anger takes over. “She is disappointed and angry,” Diaan says. And even if Altus tells her later that day that the doctor says the op can be reversed, she struggles to be excited at the prospect of falling pregnant again.
SORRY SEEMS TO BE THE HARDEST WORD
Diaan explains that it was already a big step for Paula to forgive Altus for his affair with Kristin (Loriska Bubb) in November 2014. “They reconciled, re-married and promised to always be honest going forward, but Altus has broken his vows to her yet again.” By Friday 8 January, Paula has started cooling down and when Altus comes to see her at the Hillside Times, she decides to give him a chance to ask for forgiveness. “He admits his mistake and says that when he got the vasectomy, he thought that he’d never get her back. He didn’t want any other woman and certainly no other child if it wasn’t her child,” Diaan says.
Later that day, it looks like everything’s forgiven and forgotten, but that’s set to change pretty soon…