THE last time we saw him he looked as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Lonely and heartbroken, Austin Coetzee couldn’t fathom how his beloved wife could stand accused of plotting to kill him. But six months on he looks like a new man as he opens the door for us.

His brown shoes shine and he’s neatly dressed in dark jeans and dark-grey jacket. The aroma of a pot of curry cooking on the stove fills his home in Kenilworth, Cape Town. On the coffee table in the living room stands a bunch of orange roses with a card that reads, “Welcome home!”

Austin (66) grins from ear to ear as he confirms the news.

“She came home on Thursday afternoon,” he tells us. His wife of more than a decade, Petina Coetzee (45), is back home after being away for 10 long months.

Austin and Tina – as she’s known to family and friends – have been separated since 18 October last year after a tip-off led to her being taken into custody by police. She allegedly wanted to pay a hitman R200 000 to have Austin killed and was arrested after one of her employees informed the police of her plans (YOU, 9 March).

Tina isn’t home during our visit as her lawyers have advised her not to do interviews at this stage. One of the conditions of her and Austin’s reunion is that they may not talk about the ongoing court case as he’s a state witness.

And yet after everything that’s happened her husband still steadfastly maintains she’s innocent. The semiretired businessman says he has no qualms about sleeping under the same roof as the woman who stands accused of plotting his murder as he believes his wife is the victim of a scam.

“Her determination in that regard reinforced my belief she got dragged into a situation and she couldn’t get out of it,” he explains.