---
title: "Watch — From Real Housewives fame to real ‘shoplifting’ arrest infamy"
description: "South African couple Melany and Peet Viljoen revelled in the limelight. Melany featured on the reality TV show The Real Housewives of Pretoria. And Viljoen styled himself as a legal eagle. But all wasn’t as it seemed. The couple perpetuated the lie that there is a ‘white genocide’ in South Africa, with Afrikaners being violently targeted. So they moved to the US, where they were arrested on shoplifting charges. Daily Maverick’s Caryn Dolley explains."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "VIDEO"
author: "Caryn Dolley"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/caryn-dolley-for-amabhungane/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-03-29-watch-from-real-housewives-fame-to-real-shoplifting-arrest-infamy/"
published: "2026-03-29T20:34:36"
updated: "2026-03-30T06:02:26"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 42
---

# Watch — From Real Housewives fame to real ‘shoplifting’ arrest infamy

> South African coupleMelany and Peet Viljoen revelled in the limelight. Melany featured on the reality TV show The Real Housewives of Pretoria. And Viljoen styled himself as a legal eagle. But all wasn’t as it seemed. The couple perpetuated the lie that there is a ‘white genocide’ in South Africa, with Afrikaners being violently targeted. So they moved to the US, where they were arrested on shoplifting charges. Daily Maverick’s Caryn Dolley explains.

By Caryn Dolley · Published 29 March 2026, 22:34 SAST · Updated 30 March 2026, 08:02 SAST

## Content

[YouTube video: "YouTube video"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq6jeQzSdK0)

Reporting by: Caryn Dolley
Edited by: Joel Seboa
Filmed by: Joel Seboa
Produced by: Emilie Gambade
Creative lead: Malibongwe Tyilo
Sub-edited by: Kevin Flynn

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