[imagesource: News24]

By now, you’ll be well aware of the alleged affair between Elton Jantjies and Springboks dietitian Zeenat Simjee.

Both have been sent home from Argentina as the Bokke prepare to face Argentina on Saturday night, South African time.

While it’s the sort of story that can lead to sensational headlines and jokes on social media, there are also three children involved.

Some high-profile figures have perhaps forgotten about that, with Springbok Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus putting former Bok Rob Louw in his place this week:

Rob you tagged me, so I guess you want a response. I have obviously been guilty of making comments/fun of stuff like this in the past! When I see the suffering & damage to innocent children & parents involved I tend to think twice before I comment (just respect for the families). https://t.co/MeXSXJo7C1

— Rassie Erasmus (@RassieRugby) September 13, 2022

Emojis will be the death of us all.

Iva Jantjies, Elton’s wife, has now given an interview to News24 telling her side of the story, starting with how she found out about the allegations.

That was via a post on social media that she read three times “to make sure [she had read it] correctly”:

She said she was “not sure” how she felt about the relationship.

“We have been together since 2014 and had our ups and downs like every other couple. I have always been there to support him through good and bad times, and I still am. When we met, he was not even part of the Bok squad, we worked really hard for him to achieve his goals and dreams. [I] sacrificed so many things, including my career and my dreams,” she added.

She maintains she will “still have love” for Elton “no matter what happens from here”…

However, she added that she would “probably not” remain romantically involved with Elton.

Iva is currently at the family’s home in Japan and expects Elton to return next week

She also told the outlet that Elton had denied the allegations and “he is very disappointed”, adding that the couple is regularly in contact.

Springbok management has been forthright in stressing that Elton didn’t breach any team protocols, but had been sent home to “attend to these personal reports and to eliminate any distractions”.

Iva is less than impressed by those statements and the reaction of SA Rugby:

Iva said she was shocked by “how lightly this has been taken”.

“This is very concerning for all the Springbok wives as none of us was aware that this behaviour is actually not breaking any rules and it’s taken so lightly… It’s very disappointing for a World Cup-winning management to allow situations like this to be created inside the team environment.”

Elton has yet to put out a public statement.

A few days back, he did post an image of a young Robert De Niro from The Godfather: Part II to his Instagram Story. It was accompanied by a quote:

“I prefer to distance myself whenever I’m mad to calm my mind otherwise I become the most heartless person you’ll ever meet.”

He also posted to his Instagram account late last night:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Elton Jantjies (@eltonjantjies)

In conversation with TimesLIVE, Iva stressed that she knew Simjee well, considered her a “family friend”, and was “still shocked”:

She said knew Simjee from Springbok team meals and family gatherings. “We chatted to each other and even made jokes. I also met her life partner who was also invited to these gatherings.”

Iva called on rugby management to take care when appointing support staff, how staff act and whether boundaries were respected.

“That must be done because the players almost never see their wives and families.”

The thing I find most ridiculous is that a public figure, who has often been photographed with his wife and regularly shares his own images on social media, can be so allegedly brazen about an affair.

Put aside the shouting and screaming and, um, other noises that guests were said to complain about – the rugby star allegedly left large bills unpaid and that played a huge part in the allegations becoming public.

When confronted by one guest about the noise, he allegedly said, “do you know who I am?”

Yes, people do know who you are. They also know you’re married with three children, and can still recall the allegations that you pounded on an airline toilet door for 10 minutes while a terrified air hostess hid inside.

[sources:news24&timeslive]