Mzansi swindlers
Fooled By Love sees guests from different walks of life share shocking stories on being conned by the people they loved.
Season 1 Mondays (from 22 August) SABC1 (*191) 18:00
The Tinder Swindler made headlines around the world earlier this year thanks to a doccie on streaming service Netflix. He promoted himself as a billionaire businessman from a powerful family who promised his targets the world, with the hidden agenda of earning their love and trust, then conning them out of money. His promises ranged from trips around the world (most happened – and he was in Cape Town numerous times), to marriage, money and a life filled with the kind of romance in fairytales. But unlike a happily ever after, financial exploitation by romantic partners is something that happens more than we think, and new reality show Fooled By Love is revealing how prevalent it is in our own backyard.
PRODUCTION NOTES
The show producer Thabang Masanabo reveals that a personal experience was the foundation for the show. “A few years ago, a friend fell in love with her boyfriend. He was from a village and it was her first serious relationship. He asked her to help him out with a car because his was giving him problems. He was blacklisted so he couldn’t get a loan himself,” she adds.
Thabang’s friend eventually bought a car in her name with the agreement that her boyfriend would pay her back the money. Months later, he was in an accident and the car was written off. Then she found out that her boyfriend had got another woman pregnant, paid the traditional “damage” and had married her too. “He had been living a double life and was completely in love with someone else. “My friend was stuck with the car financing loan worth hundreds and thousands of rands that her boyfriend didn’t pay back as there was no formal agreement in place,” explains Thabang.
SWINDLING STYLE
The show will have a range of guests every week from around the country and different walks of life to show that no one is immune to the pandemic of being manipulated by romance. “Love can turn the best of us into fools,” says Thabang. “Love is the ultimate equalizer and it doesn’t care if you come from an impoverished background or you’re educated. It doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor. Love levels the battling play field,” adds Thabang, referring to how victims range from pastors to security guards. “We have black people, coloured people, white people, people with degrees and people without matric. Anyone can be a victim.”
LOVE ISN’T THE PROBLEM
Although the stories on Fooled By Love will have viewers shocked, the point of the show isn’t to scare people out of love, but instead to create a safe space of relatability to look back and laugh at their own situations that may have made them fools. “People fall in love hard, which is not a bad thing. It’s the people that take advantage of them that are bad,” says Thabang. “At its core, the show is a light-hearted group therapy session and we don’t focus on the foolers – they stay anonymous – but rather how the victims were fooled and how they rebuilt their lives after these experiences. We’re not trying to get people in trouble, but rather help our viewers protect themselves.”
“Love doesn’t care about who you are. It can turn anyone into a fool, anyone can be a victim”