'Liefling' loses the love

06 October 2015 - 02:05 By Poppy Louw

Former Springbok flyhalf Derick Hougaard, dubbed "Liefling" [darling] by an adoring Loftus Versfeld crowd when he used to score so many points for the Blue Bulls, and his now ex-wife, Afrikaans singer Karlien van Jaarsveld, are back in the dating game. Yesterday the couple's final divorce order was granted. They called it quits this year after numerous attempts to save their two-year-old marriage proved unsuccessful.Van Jaarsveld, who won season 8 of Strictly Come Dancing in August, had announced her split from Hougaard in a post on her Facebook page: "For a long time now I've been thinking about how, where and when I would make this announcement. It would come out anyway, so I've decided to share the news myself."I am divorcing my husband. This is a difficult time for us and I hope that everyone that reads this respects that. Thank you for your love and support," she wrote.David Scheepers of Adams & Adams Attorneys, said Van Jaarsveld and Hougaard's "first and only concern was to ensure their difficult decision [divorce] made little impact on the future wellbeing of their twin boys".Van Jaarsveld's summons indicated that "both parties have lost their mutual love for each other and neither of them wished to continue with the marriage".The former couple are among several high-profile personalities whose separations were made public recently, including cricketer Graeme Smith, DJ Zinhle and hip-hop star AKA.Johannesburg counsellor Veronica Banks warned against the public manner in which high-profile couples parted, saying they needed to protect their children from public scrutiny...

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