Actress and media personality Denise Zimba has opened up about the pain of being separated from her two young daughters following a legal battle with her estranged husband, Jakob Schlichtig.
In a heartfelt Instagram post shared on Easter Sunday, Denise expressed her deep sorrow in a letter addressed to her children. “I love you Leah and Mila. Haven’t seen or spoken to you since last Saturday. My body shows I bared my children, but no children in sight. God only knows why this is happening. The truth will always find its way. Love mama. Happy Easter,” she wrote.
Denise and Jakob met in Cape Town in 2015 and welcomed their first daughter, Leah, in July 2019. They tied the knot seven months later and eventually moved to Munich, Germany, in 2022. Their second daughter, Mila, was born in Germany in 2023. Denise filed for divorce in September that same year.
Later in 2023, the family visited South Africa for a two-month holiday. However, Denise decided not to return to Germany with the children. She cited attempted assault and infidelity as reasons for staying in South Africa with her daughters.
This decision led to a legal case in the Johannesburg High Court, which ruled that the children, aged one and four, must return to Germany. Judge Maletsatsi Mahalelo based the ruling on the Hague Convention, an international law that deals with child abduction. The court found that since the children were living in Germany, they needed to be returned to that country.
In response, Denise shared her side of the story with the Sunday Times: “I did not abduct my children. We both agreed the children and I would stay in SA after a round table meeting with my estranged husband and my family, only for him to return to Germany and open the case. It was a shock to me and my family. My family was willing to discuss matters with his family. He said he would relay the message. That never happened.”
She added, “I was four months post-partum and financially dependent on my estranged husband. My career had been halted for the longest time. I had to fight for my girls to remain with me, their primary caregiver, during my divorce. My girls were four years and four months at the time.”
Denise’s emotional post has touched many of her followers, who are now showing their support and hoping for a peaceful resolution for the mother and her children.
