They have been married for 11 years. They seemed like the perfect family, a beautiful house, kids and a dog. They have overcome what many couples would struggle with, from infidelity to allegations of rape and in-law disputes. But reality TV star, gamer and comedian, Mongezi �"Toll A$$ Mo” Mahlangu has announced his separation from his wife, Mome Mahlangu.

TRAUMATISED

In an interview on Waw What A Week podcast by DJ Fresh, Toll A$$ Mo opened up about his rocky marriage after he was accused by model Lerato Moloi of rape. Lerato said that Toll A$$ Mo raped her during a work trip in the Western Cape. The model said in a statement that the incident happened in 2014. "For many years, I have been battling to find the courage and support to speak up against several acts of violence which have happened to me," Lerato penned. "In 2014, I was sexually assaulted and raped by Toll A$$ Mahlangu while working on a television production in Paarl, Western Cape. For numerous reasons, I did not open a case at the time and only shared this experience with one of the other participants on the show". The rape allegations led to Toll A$$ Mo being "cancelled" by society and it resulted in him not being able to make an income to support his wife and three children. In August 2022, Toll A$$ Mo was found not guilty. Through all of this, the couple stayed together. Mome was even judged by social media for staying with â€?"an alleged rapist” at the time.

GOING THEIR SEPARATE WAYS

Almost a year after the court verdict, Toll A$$Mo says the trauma of being accused of rape has affected his mind so much that he can no longer continue to be married to a black woman. �"Currently, Mome and I are separated, and we are in the process of filing for divorce,” he says. �"People grow, we grew apart. We went through so many challenges in our lives. I was there for her as much as she was there for me.” Toll A$$ Mo sayys their relationship is no longer working. �"It hurts me so much because we have reached a point where things are just not working for the two of us,” he says holding back the tears. He says they have tried everything under the sun. �"It’s me that’s walking away. I am f#&king traumatised by black women. I am traumatised to the point that I don’t want to have a black woman as a wife, again. Mome is not part of my trauma. Even when I would be making love to my woman, I would get flashbacks of this woman’s face in my mind (Lerato Moloi).” He says he hasn’t healed and it’s affecting him. �"I was told how to heal and how to deal but the other sgender is not told how to deal with their pain.” Toll A$$ Mo says Mome has not come to terms with the separation despite them now living apart. �"She still stays at the farm, and I live at my Sandton house. The kids are not 100 percent aware of what is going on with mom and dad. We have not had the chance to sit down with them. I need to heal. I need time by myself. I can’t heal within my marriage. I don’t know how to explain it. My heart and my ancestors are telling me. I have been celibate for six months. I don’t want a woman near me now. I am not gay, I am not interested right now. You can be butt-naked in front of me. I trained my mind so much, I don’t even have morning glory. How I am going to get over the trauma, I don’t know. I can’t love again.” Toll A$$ Mo will now date outside of the black race. �"I want to date a snow bunny or something exotic. I want nothing to do with culture. I am on medication because of black women.”

MOME’S BOOK

Mome recently released a book about how to deal with �"difficult in-laws.” In the book titled Mome’s Depth of Black Love, she documents her hardships with her in-laws and how she has learned to cope. "The book is all about how in-laws have the ability to turn a beautiful relationship into something ugly," she told ZiMoja at the time, adding that, "It is all based on my personal experiences, which I use to help others to navigate these relationships." Mome said it took her ten-year relationship with Mongezi to gain wisdom and to be able to articulate and pen down her thoughts on "in-law hate." It, however, took her three years to put the book together. With everything she has experienced in her relationship, she said she had also taken some lessons. "In-law hate has helped me to accept rejection and acknowledge self-love," she says. "It has taught me self-acceptance and made me understand the person I am from the inside out," Mome said the book was dedicated to her children. "When I wrote this book, I had my children in mind." At the time of publishing, Mome was not ready to comment about the separation.