Marike Botha - the 'other woman' in the Siya & Rachel Kolisi saga - speaks out

Marike said she's had to get bodyguards after insults and threats to her life following Rachel Kolisi's social media meltdown

01 April 2019 - 13:54 By Chrizelda Kekana
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Fitness model Marike Botha has opened up about how Rachel Kolisi's meltdown has affected her life.
Fitness model Marike Botha has opened up about how Rachel Kolisi's meltdown has affected her life.
Image: Instagram/miki_za

Fitness model Marike Botha has had to hire a bodyguard among other safety measures after Springbok captain Siya Kolisi's wife, Rachel, put her on blast for allegedly sending him risqué pictures on social media. 

Two weeks ago Rachel got major backlash after she asked fans to help her locate Marike, who she claimed had sent Siya revealing DMs. 

The 23-year-old fitness model, who became the talk of the town after Rachel's social media meltdown, told Drum magazine that she was most upset by the "inaccurate" version of events that has since tarnished her brand.

"My manager organised a bodyguard for me, so I could keep going to gym, and I'm also going to get psychological help. I'm extremely emotional and struggling to concentrate in class," Marike revealed.

A few days after Rachel's posts went viral, Marike claimed on Instagram that she did not reach out to Siya first. She has since deleted the post. 

She told the magazine that when she got Rachel's message she told  her to "keep her husband on a tighter leash" and that she had nothing to feel guilty about as she had done nothing wrong.

"I didn't cry, I didn't feel guilty about anything because I knew I hadn't done anything wrong. I was more shocked," Marike said.

The model, who was relatively unknown before the saga, has had to change her social media handles a couple of times but, in an effort to not let the "scandal" keep her down, she's going about life as normally as possible.

Both Rachel and Siya have remained silent since the scandal first broke. 

Rachel has since been enjoying some down time on vacay with their kids. 

View this post on Instagram

dreading this holiday being over. 😭❤

A post shared by Rachel Kolisi (@rachel_kolisi) on


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