Happiness At Last After So Much Grief

After losing three loved ones in a house fire, Christelle is finally picking up the pieces of her life and has found love

- Franco Havenga

The little boy peeks into the lounge of his grandmother’s Pretoria home. “I think he senses what we’re talking about,” Christelle Nagel whispers once he’s left the room.

Before long Theo pops his head around the door again, shooting a glance at his gran. The five-year-old is clearly very attached to her and it’s easy to understand why – she’s the closest thing he has to a mother now.

Christelle (48) and Theo are the only survivors of a devastating fire that killed three members of their family. Christelle lost her husband, Theo Sr (54), her daughter, Nicolene Pretorius (23), and her granddaughter, Leoné (2), when the blaze gutted their Centurion home in 2018.

Leoné, Theo’s little sister, was declared dead at the scene. His mom, Nicolene, and Theo Sr were rushed to hospital with severe burn wounds, where they later died.

The reason Theo survived, Christelle says, is because Nicolene managed to get him to safety by passing him through a window before the flames engulfed her.

Almost two years after the fire robbed her of her home and her family, Christelle has started to rebuild her life and is now in a new relationship. “After all this immense grief, I’ve found happiness again,” she tells us.

Another Christmas without her family is fast approaching, she’s trying to focus on the positives and cherish the loved ones she still has.

She met Morné Bothma, a truck driver, through a mutual friend just before lockdown. The couple hit it off and moved in together in Pretoria.