Motsi Mabuse’s ex-husband has denied her claims that he was abusive to her and says he was “just being German”.
The South African-raised dancer and talent show judge, 42, moved to Germany to be with Timo Kulczak, 45, who was also her dance partner.
The couple wed in 2003, but divorced in 2014 after 11 years of marriage.
Last year, Mr Kulczak started court proceedings to sue the Strictly Come Dancing judge after she made a series of allegations about their time together in her 2022 autobiography, Finding My Own Rhythm: My Story.
In the memoir she accused Kulczak of being controlling by claiming he paid her an allowance from her dance teaching and TV earnings.
She also said he rejected her pleas to have a baby and kept a close eye on her diet, all allegations which he has denied.
Kulczak has now spoken out in a new interview and claims that Mabuse, who is the older sister of fellow dancer and reality TV judge Oti Mabuse, struggled to adapt to the “German way” and he had to help “organise” her.
“I wasn’t abusive, I was just being German,” he told The Sun.
“For sure, the German character is different from the South African way of living.
“But she lived here a very long time, so she got used to it and liked how organised everything was and how things were functioning because it was organised,” he added.
Over the weekend, it was revealed that Mabuse has been ordered by judges in Germany to attend a hearing after talks to avoid a courtroom showdown broke downLawyers for Kulczak, who is the coach of the national German dance squad, previously asked the court to imprison Mabuse for up to six months or fine her £290,000 if she repeats the claims about their 11-year marriage.
Kulczak went on to tell the outlet that initially he had “just wanted the apology”, but it was now “not enough” and claimed what has been written in Mabuse’s book has had an impact on both his professional and personal life.
Mabusi went on to marry her new dance partner Evgenij Vozynuk in 2017.
The couple share a daughter together and run a dance school together near Frankfurt
The Standard has contacted a representative for Motsi Mabuse for comment
