TRUE LOVE DOES EXIST

Forget all the drama surrounding the end of Claudia’s marriage. She has found Michael and she’s happier than ever

- MEGHAN LAWRENCE

A STEADY drizzle has shrouded the Camps Bay shoreline in mist, but Claudia Henkel isn’t bothered by the gloomy weather. After all, she knows how to get through a storm and make a fresh start.

The former Miss South Africa’s love life made headlines earlier this year when her ex was pictured in what looked like a wedding ceremony. She was humiliated because they were still legally married at the time – but that’s all water under the bridge now.

Claudia has found love again in the arms of wealthy Tshwane businessman Michael Hoffman, and the couple are now enjoying a winter break in Cape Town with her five-year-old twins, Skylar and Hunter, who come running over to greet us.

“It’s our first time in Cape Town,” Skylar says, while Hunter chats away about how he’s enjoying playing Minecraft.

“Do you know if there are mermaids in the sea here? Do you think a mermaid will sit on that big rock near the beach?” Skylar asks, pointing at a boulder.

The busy pair mean the world to their mom and she’s thrilled they get along with Michael (45).

Claudia was ready to move on and be in a new relationship following her public split from her ex, Orin Roesstorff. But after her 40th birthday in April people told her not to get her hopes up – there really was no such thing as true love.

“Now I can tell them it does exist,” she says, smiling.

Things are so serious between the two that Claudia and her kids are moving in with Michael, who recently bought a new home. “We decided to move in together because it’s Michael’s first journey with the house,” she says.

“It’s also the start of our relationship.”