Siya Kolisi has praised his soon-to-be ex-wife, Rachel Kolisi for staying loyal to him in a clip of an old interview that has recently resurfaced.
The Springboks captain – who has previously confessed to wild partying, heaving drinking, and visiting strip clubs – announced the end of his marriage a month ago.
The former couple share two children and are also legal guardians to Siya’s two younger siblings.
SIYA KOLISI THANKS RACHEL FOR SUPPORT
In a special SuperSport feature released last year, Siya Kolisi was interviewed by media personality Siv Ngesi. In the throwback clip, which is circulating on social media again, the Springbok captain thanks his wife for her support.
When Siv said that Rachel did not get the credit she deserved, Siya added: “Without her, none of the things I’ve done would have happened.
“I longed for a family, and she got pregnant. Before Nic [his son] was born, we found my brother and sister. While she was pregnant, she took in two other children who couldnt speak a word of English.
He continued: “I was not in a good place; I was wilding. I was living like I had no family. She stayed with me. She always saw the person that I could become, and she believed it”.
Siya – who has affectionately referred to Rachel as “Mariri” – added: “When someone loves you at your worst, you know that is you person. She has seen me at my worst”.
‘OUT WITH THE BOYS’
Siya Kolisi’s comments in the interview came just a few months after the release of his autobiography Rise. In it, he wrote about the side of him that nobody knew – his heavy drinking, frequenting strip clubs, and reckless spending.
Much of it came before and after his 2016 marriage to Rachel. In 2015, just months after Rachel had given birth to their first child, Nicholas, Siya flew to England to play in the World Cup.
He was not a regular fixture in the squad and claimed he used his time off to drink himself into oblivion.
rachel siya kolisi foundation, springboks
Rachel and Siya Kolisi in happier times.
Image via Instagram:
@kolisifoundation
He wrote in the book: “Rachel [my wife] had come out with baby Nick, and this would have been the perfect opportunity to spend some time with them; but no, I preferred to be out with the boys.
“It was an awful time for her, and I was too selfish to realise. In the end, Rachel got fed up with me being a jerk and flew home a week early.”
“Rachel had had enough. If it had been an isolated incident, that would have been one thing, but it wasn’t.”
Siya Kolisi also alluded to cheating on Rachel when his Christian mentor Ben Schoeman told him: “Siya, you drink a lot, you fool around with women, you go to strip clubs. You post on social media about your faith in Christ, but you’re lying to yourself and everyone else.”
MOTHER FIGURE TO SIYA’S SIBLINGS
Meanwhile, Siya Kolisi’s siblings, Liyema and Liphelo, have maintained a strong relationship with Rachel despite the news of the divorce.
And many believe the brother and sister regard Rachel as a mother figure after their own mother died at a young age.
In many Instagram clips, Rachel refers to Liphelo as her “teenager” while she spends quality time with Liyem