So, how did she get out? In 1979, South Africa finally passed a law making “irretrievable breakdown” a valid reason for divorce. Maye was the first to take advantage of it in her area. She literally ran for the legal exit door the second it cracked open.
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The divorce itself was a legal slugfest that took years. Errol fought her tooth and nail, even claiming she was incapable of raising the kids. But Maye was done. She wasn't asking for permission—she was taking her freedom.
She walked away with nothing but the kids and the clothes on their backs. No alimony. No house. No car. She was a single mom with three tiny humans, zero savings, and a broken-down old car that probably ran on hope and fumes.
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Now, here’s where the story gets both hilarious and heartbreaking. Maye worked five jobs at once. She did modeling, ran a private dietetics practice, and even typed up university papers for students to make ends meet. She was essentially a superhero without a cape—she wore a very tired bathrobe.
She lived in tiny, cramped apartments. She recalls one place so small that the kids had to sleep on the couch. And her big indulgence? A single carton of orange juice for herself, which she rationed like it was liquid gold. “I was always tired,” she says. Yeah, no kidding, Maye.
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But here’s the thing: she never once complained to her kids. She made sure they felt loved, safe, and like they had a future. She turned that family of four into a tiny, scrappy team against the world. And they won.
