ALONE AGAIN AT 87

After the collapse of her third marriage author Emsie Schoeman has decided she no longer wants a man in her life

- JOANIE BERGH

USING her right hand, she slowly twists the two gold-and-diamond wedding bands on her finger around and around.

Her third marriage is over but Emsie Schoeman has decided not to remove the rings which her now estranged husband slipped on her finger – first when they got engaged and then, in May 2015, when they married.

On that day, in a small church hall in the picturesque Garden Route town of Wilderness, Emsie was a bride again at age 82. In front of their children, grandchildren, family and friends she pledged everlasting love to her 82-yearold groom.

But for the past six months the renowned author, who’s written several books about etiquette and manners, has been living alone in the town house in Olivedale, Johannesburg, she’d shared with him since their wedding.

As a token of respect for his privacy, Emsie (87) doesn’t wish to name her estranged husband, a lawyer from Johannesburg.

The split came as a shock. “He said he was going to his daughter for the weekend then decided he wasn’t coming back,” she tells YOU.

She struggles to contain her emotions. It’s taken her months to process the shock and pain before being able to talk about it.

“I had the rug pulled completely from under me. I knew things weren’t great between us, but this?”

She turns the rings again. “And then he was gone. It broke my heart.”

A PICTURE of Emsie and her third husband on their wedding day is displayed in the huge bookcase in her lounge.