Amor: This won't tear us apart
2009-02-19 23:08
Cape Town - "I married Joost because he is an honest man, a man with integrity.
"I know it's not Joost (in the video) and do not have a moment's doubt.
"This crisis is not going to tear us apart," said singer Amor Vittone, wife of former Springbok captain Joost van der Westhuizen, on Thursday afternoon.
This was her first candid interview with a newspaper after news broke about the so-called Joost sex video.
Vittone said on Thursday she could "honestly" say she now for the first time feels "calm" in her heart about the fuss.
According to Heat magazine, a Media24 publication, a scantily clad woman had oral sex with her husband and together they sniffed "a white powder".
A tower of strength
"Since (the beginning of) our marriage Joost has been my tower of strength and, now that we have children, also theirs. Now it's my turn. I now have to be his tower of strength - and I fully support him."
She feels as if someone "has stuck a knife in her heart" and sometimes just wants to burst into tears, but at other times she wants to feel good because she knows Joost is telling the truth.
"Even if it takes six months or a year, the truth will prevail."
Last Saturday it was a "terrible shock" when Media24 newspaper Rapport told them about the video and that an article about it would appear in the paper the following day.
"It was a few hours before I had to go on stage and Joost had to be at Loftus as a rugby commentator. But shocked or not, we had to carry on. That's our job.
'I'm at peace'
"But it's strange, you know, I have no hatred in my heart. I'm at peace - but sometimes feel terribly angry. And I have questions. Why does someone want to do this to us? What drives someone to try and destroy us in this way?"
But then she remembers how "deeply" she and Joost love each other. She thinks of their children and knows they may not allow their life to be disrupted by "such filth".
One of Vittone's recent hits is Voluit Lewe (Living life to the full), and that's what she believes she should do now - live life to the full.
"In this crisis Joost and I find strength from Above, and from our many friends who support us and pray for us.
So many e-mails...
"I can't keep up with answering e-mails from friends - even from Australia, England and Saudi Arabia. In times like these one learns the value of true friends."
Vittone said she would stand by her man "now and forever".
"At our wedding we made a promise for better or for worse. We are now going through a "worse" time, but it will only make our love and our relationship stronger."
Joost van der Westhuizen said the investigation of the video by his legal consultants is continuing.