US Open No Mental Health Claims Please

She saw it coming. Her husband wants out. Her mental health is in tatters but she cannot talk about it because she is not a professional tennis player, an NBA millionaire or a rich actress in Beverly Hills who does not smile because of multiple Botok procedures.

The assault on her mental health was gradual, but she persevered because of accommodation. She could not bear living in an apartment because one cannot make quiet neighbors, a clause in the rental lease.

She also persevered because her mother warned her to marry a man who loves her, and not the man she loves. She married her childhood sweetheart, worked in the same industry with him, had two kids who moved to Venezuela and Haute-Volta. She even rode behind him on his motorbike, although she was scared all the time on those inter-state rides to motorbike meets.

He stopped touching her. Meals were a torture. He cut his beard, took membership at the local gym and found a new cologne. Nights were long and alone before the T.V. Then he bought a laptop. He smiled and laughed with it, or at it. Meanwhile the family van got old, so did she. He said there was no need to replace it. He would drop her off at work and pick her up from the grocery store.

He finally dropped the divorce papers on the kitchen table and told her they were not compatible. No, she does not have any mental health problems. It’s a condition for celebrities, not billions of women around the world.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.