The other day while relaxing at home watching TV, a friend called to alert me to switch on the radio.

A local radio station was interviewing an accomplished academic and businesswoman.

She was talking about how she was completely blind-sided by her husband of many years, who had introduced her to a lifestyle of personal chefs, hair stylists and masseuses.

He had been steadily stealing from her savings for years.

At first, the man had seemed like the proverbial knight on a horse.

Remarkably rich, he had soon asked his potential wife to stop worrying about anything concerning money.

Private jets and frequent overseas shopping trips like they were visiting the nearby mall were a regular in their household.

The man worshipped labels and did not compromise on quality.

His family shopped in leading fashion capitals including London, Milan and Paris, courting well-known designers many of us only read about in newspapers.

When a man has so much more money than you, he becomes the designated minister of finance in your life.

So the poor lady did not know when the "ish" hit the fan.

Unbeknown to her, the recession of 2008/2009 had hit his businesses and he had gone bankrupt, but he continued to live a lavish lifestyle without disclosing his problems.

At least with the Steinhoff scandal, Markus Jooste's wife would have read about the implosion in the newspapers and was probably able to save a family heirloom or two.

But in this woman's case, the R2-million she had been saving over the years - because her husband had told her that her salary was her own pocket money - was wiped out within a few weeks by him.

Worse, he racked up huge debts in her name.

It must be heart-breaking when the man you sleep next to every night turns out to be your worst enemy by betraying you like this.

According to the woman, the scammer fled their home when the creditors came knocking.

The last she heard of him, he was somewhere in London.

Meanwhile, she was left to face the heat and tackle their mountain of debts.

It took her more than five years to pay off all the debts.

But it is not only the rich, with their risky wheelings and dealings, who have been known to leave their partners in abject poverty after stealing from them.

Some men have been known to abandon their sleeping beauties in exotic locations, leaving them to pay off hotel bills and other
costs incurred during lavish holidays.

The poor damsels wake up only to discover the scammers have moved on to their next victims, leaving them with huge bills - in dollars nogal.

Then there are husbands and partners who, when love hormones are high, can sweetly influence their loved ones to take on huge debts before they flee to unknown locations.

The dagger cuts deeper when someone you love swindles you of your hard earned money.