Steve 'had too much to lose'
2008-01-21 07:20
Johannesburg - Money is thought to have played a part in superstar Steve Hofmeyr's decision last year to make an all-out effort to save his marriage and leave his lover of 10 years.
This is according to a source close to Hofmeyr's inner circles in response to revelations by former lover Janine van der Vyver, in Rapport on Sunday.
Among other things, Janine said the singer, who has three children out of wedlock, had got her pregnant, after which she had an abortion with his knowledge.
She also is suing Steve for breach of contract because he apparently did not keep his promise to buy her a house, give her a monthly allowance and help her financially to start a fitness studio.
Janine, who is from Pretoria, also claims that Steve promised to marry her and have children with her.
Deeply humiliated
According to a source, "everyone" except Steve's wife, actress Natasha Sutherland, knew about his longstanding relationship with the 28-year-old fitness instructor.
The source said: "Natasha was deeply humiliated when she found out about it last year.
"She wanted a divorce. The documents had already been prepared, but Steve realised that Natasha would take him to the cleaners and promised to leave Janine.
"If he did not have so much to lose, he would have left Natasha."
According to another source, Steve played Janine like a yo-yo and her revelations were "damning".
"It simply is not true that their relationship was merely a case of pop-star diversion, as Hofmeyr insinuated in a Huisgenoot article in December. They had a serious relationship for several years."
In the Huisgenoot article, Steve said his wife had forgiven him for the relationship and that they were pulling out all stops to work on their marriage again.
They have two young sons, Benjamin and Sebastian.
There are also those who don't have much sympathy with Janine.
"She continued the relationship with her eyes wide open, knowing that Steve was married and had children. She should have seen what was coming."
Legal experts told Beeld on Sunday that if Steve denied having given Janine the undertakings she mentioned, the onus rested on her to prove that, in fact, he had given them.
"Then it would be his word against hers. If the court cannot decide whom to believe, her claim will not succeed."
Hofmeyr would not comment on Sunday.
Kept ball of gum
Ever since she was in Std 5 (now Grade 7), Janine had idolised Steve.
She attended his shows, collected everything published about him and even kept a little ball of used chewing gum he'd tossed into an ashtray.
When she became pregnant with his child in 2002, Steve apparently said that if she wanted to keep the child she would have to rear him on her own.
She then had an abortion.
These were among allegations by Janine about her decade-long relationship with Steve that were published in Rapport on Sunday.
Some other allegations, as published in Rapport, are:
the sexual relationship between her and Steve allegedly started in 1997, when she was in matric;
when Steve married Natasha in 1998, he apparently told Janine: "You must stay in my life.";
while Janine was going out with singer Dozi in 2005, a jealous Steve allegedly peppered her with SMSs; and
"All hell broke loose" in the Hofmeyr household after Natasha discovered SMSs from Janine on her husband's cellphone in April last year. After this, Steve apparently "changed" towards Janine and made her feel "insignificant and guilty".
The relationship ended shortly afterwards.
Some of the declarations of love Steve is said to have made to Janine in SMSs and emails:
"You cover everything like a sun";
"You are everything to me and I have many things - a wife, a career - but these mean nothing without you. I'm suddenly doing things with a reason. YOU!";
"You're my gold. May I see see you again, please? I love you. Write it on the walls."; and
"My goddess, I still smell you."
These are some of the things Steve says on his blog about the relationship with Janine:
"What if the 'other relationship' is God's will? If I look at the statistics I don't know whether all first marriages are God's will, because then He has only a one-third 'hit-rate'!" and
"It could be God's will that Natasha and I should be as far away from each other as possible."