Johannesburg - Former Protea cricket captain Graeme Smith’s estranged wife has again aired their dirty laundry on social media – this time decrying the fact that she was stuck in South Africa without the support of family and friends.
Morgan Deane, who left Ireland to marry Smith in 2011, tweeted on Sunday that the cricketer has taken her children’s Irish and South Africa passports, forbidding her from leaving the country with them.
Smith’s estranged wife took to Twitter to paint a picture of a marriage riddled with infidelity and an alleged lack of financial responsibility.
“Young girls NEED to understand. THIS is what can happen if u go to a foreign country for a man &have ur babies there.”
She said she had left Ireland to move to South Africa and start a family with the cricketer, and that within just two years, she had had a miscarriage and two children.
Deane says Smith left her a day after Christmas and had an affair and she is now forced to have limited time with her children as Smith has been granted permission to spend three nights a week with them.
“A national hero. I will be stuck in South Africa away from my family, alone without my babies 3 days/3 nights every week until we get into court,” she tweeted.
Her allegations caught the attention of Brett Soulman, who defended Smith and tweeted: “Last time I checked, the passports were with a 3rd party lawyer as agreed by both parties… If u gonna go public at least tell the truth!”
Soulman also retweeted @oceansvibe radio presenter Socrates Georgiades’s post which refers to an interview Deane had with Algoa FM in which she contradicts herself.
She was quoted as saying “I’ve been here for the last four years and I absolutely love it. Best place ever.”
The Irish pop star hit back and tweeted: “Brett, they’re with a 3rd party lawyer now after G (Graeme) stole them for months. Where’s the lie there?
“Let’s talk about Graeme not paying our water rates in the house, having it cut off and me having to bring the babies to friends for baths!
“Dirty Laundry @brettsoulman when uve gone through what I’ve gone through come back to me. This is real life. ”
She then accused Smith of appearing “dignified in the public when he has friends like u guys to bully his ex wife”.
While some criticised Deane, with many saying their custody agreement is fair as Smith is their children’s father, others came to her defence.
Rayyan Rizvi tweeted “@MorganDeane @GraemeSmith49 once upon a time my hero, now disgrace!! #shame #TrueColors,” and @Ak- shara_xo posted: “@MorganDeane Absolutely disgusted. Shame on you @GraemeSmith49 My heart goes out to you morgs. Hang in there.”
The cricketer has remained mum on his marital disputes but his agent Kirsti Lyall said in a statement on Monday afternoon that the arrangement regarding the couple’s children – Cadence Christine, 2, and Carter McMorrin, 1 - was decided by a neutral child psychologist.
The Star