She is a successful radio host, author, actress, and psychology graduate best known for her role as Mokgadi Matloga-Maputla in the soap opera Skeem Saam. But fame has not been able to come with fortune and put a roof over her head and food on the table. Skeem Saam actress Pebetsi Nolo Matlaila (38) has opened up about living in a homeless shelter and battling to make ends meet.

STRUGGLING

In a video shared on social media, Matlaila said her financial challenges started when she left her partner without an income. "My kids and I are at a shelter, a women and children's safety house owned by the police department. Everything is safe here and you are provided for," she said. She added that she felt safe at the shelter, however, she did not elaborate on why she left her partner. "They keep you here until you feel safe enough to get out there if you can when you come for a domestic violence situation or you can stay long enough here to get back on your feet."

FAMILY

Her radio job and a few acting gigs here and there have not been enough to sustain her. "I have been trying to survive with the one radio job I have, however, it has been difficult to find other jobs," she said. She refused to ask family and friends to avoid burdening them. "Besides not knowing how to ask for help, I don't want to burden people. My mother does not even live in the town that I come from. She only goes to that house on holidays and weekends. My mother has sacrificed too much for me already for me and my children. So much so that other family members are looking at e as if I'm a leech that is sucking my mother dry." Matlaila said she is trying to pick up the pieces on her own.