Who is Motsi Mabuse’s ex-husband Timo Kulczak and why is the Strict judge ‘threatened with prison’?

Motsi Mabuse has been a regular on TV screens for years, from her rise to fame on the German show Lets Dance to her role on the jury of Strictly Come Dancing.

This week it was reported that the professional dancer has been ‘threatened with jail’ by her ex-husband Timo Culczak, 46.

Motsi, 42, who divorced Timo in 2014, is being sued by her former husband for £70,000 and has refused to settle the agreement, meaning the case will go to trial.

But who is Timo and why is he suing his ex-wife? Here, MailOnline looks at their relationship history.

This is everything you need to know about Motsi Mabuse’s ex-husband Timo Kulczak…

Who is Timo Kulczak and how did he meet Motsi?

Timo was born in 1977 in Aschaffenburg, Germany.

The former couple met in 1999 at the British Open Championships in Blackpool. Motsi then moved from South Africa to Germany at the age of 18 to be with him.

She married her first love when she was only 22 years old.

However, their relationship fell apart after they stopped dancing together, despite the couple previously winning two German championships together.

Motsi broke off their 11-year marriage in 2014 when she told him she was “leaving” during a holiday to Thailand.

Why is Motsi threatened with prison?

Strict judge Motsi has reportedly been threatened with jail by her ex-husband Timo over claims she made in her autobiography that he was in control during their 11-year marriage.

In April this year, it was reported that the German dancer was suing his ex-wife for £70,000 after she told how Timo restricted her access to money and even dictated what she ate in her memoir, Finding My Own Rhythm, due out in September 2022 was released. .

Motsi has since refused to settle the agreement, meaning the case will go to trial.

Timo is said to have asked the court to give the TV judge a prison sentence of up to six months or fine her £250,000 if she repeated her previous claims. Sun reported.

Timo’s lawyer Samy Hammad said: ‘Mrs Mabuse refuses to pay, and so the court must decide now.

“All we want her to do is retract the untruths published about him and compensate him accordingly.

“My client’s reputation has been repeatedly destroyed.

“You have to threaten punishment and say if you do it again, this is what I want in terms of money, or in terms of jail time,” he told the publication.

In April, it was reported that Motsi’s summons should stop “implying that the plaintiff caused the defendant to suffer during their marriage.”

While it also states that she publicly states that the statements published in the book and the press reports cited are untrue.

It is said that the lawsuit was filed in the Offenburg Regional Court in Germany and as a German citizen, Motsi was not allowed to ignore it.

A spokesperson for Motsi said: ‘No such written court order exists – it is categorically untrue that our client faces a prison sentence in relation to her former husband’s civil suit, or that a fine is imposed, which would only be payable if our client culpably violates a court order. , would be more than a nominal amount.

‘There is no legal basis for this lawsuit. I repeat: our client retains all rights in this matter.’

In November, Timo hit back at Motsi’s claims, accusing her of making up the story to “boost book sales” while claiming they had even been in friendly contact since their divorce.

He told The sun: ‘She has done something bad to me and my family and I cannot accept that. Now I’ve reached a point where I can’t just leave things as they are when something comes out in public and it’s just not true.

‘I am deeply disappointed and hurt. Looking back, I remember a very good, positive and happy time that simply doesn’t compare to some of the claims about me that have now come to light.

“I was a loving and caring husband who was always by her side when she needed help. I don’t feel like I was controlling, I see everything I did as organizing and helping her.”

What did she say about him in her book?

In her book, Motsi claimed that her difficult relationship with Timo held her back professionally because he refused to let her open a dance school.

The TV personality said Timo took charge of her finances and paid her a stipend from what she earned from her TV appearances and dance lessons.

She claimed that Timo chose what they ate and refused to divorce her when she talked to him about it.

Motsi wrote in her book: ‘Timo and I went to Thailand, and I told him once and for all that I was leaving. We fought every day, but this time I refused to back down.”

Their relationship fell apart after they stopped dancing together, despite the couple previously winning two German championships together.

Timo, according to Motsi, also turned down her requests to have a baby and open a dance school together.

Motsi moved to Germany at the age of 18 to be with Timo, but realized that she was not in love with him at the time: “I wasn’t in love with Timo anymore – and I hadn’t been for a while.”

The couple eventually divorced in 2014 and Motsi married her Ukrainian husband Evgenij Voznyuk in 2017.