Stars of "The Real Housewives of Pretoria" — a South African installment of the beloved franchise — have been arrested for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars' worth of groceries from a Florida Publix.
Melany Viljoen, 39, and Petrus Viljoen, 57, were taken into custody by Boca Raton police on Wednesday and charged with aggravatedgrand retail theftover $3,000, according to arrest records obtained by Page Six. Both are being held on a $10,000 bond.
The South African reality stars, who were part of the original cast of "The Real Housewives of Pretoria" when it premiered in 2022, were arrested during a traffic stop while driving their Range Rover.
Boca Raton authorities first launched a six-month retail theft investigation on Aug. 29 after a "white male and female" were caught on CCTV footage entering the Publix and "ticket switching," according to the arrest records.
According to the Boca Raton Police Department, ticket switching refers to a form of shoplifting "where a price tag or UPC barcode from a less expensive item is placed onto a more expensive item to pay a lower price."
Melany and Petrus were also allegedly caught on security footage leaving the supermarket with carts full of expensive items afterskipping the self-checkout lane.
Advertisement
The embattled reality personalities are accused of stealing a total of 392 items across 52 transactions between August 2025 and March 2026.
Items reported stolen during the couple's alleged six-month shoplifting spree included two cases of Maison Perrier Forever Lime Sparkling Water at $16.39 each, one case of San Pellegrino Mineral Water at $23.99 and two bottles of La Marca Prosecco Sparkling Wine at $34.99 each.
Other stolen merchandise included toilet paper, soda, produce and more groceries.
According to Melany's arrest record, she admitted she and Petrus were the ones in the security footage obtained by investigators.
However, the "Real Housewives of Pretoria" alum also told police that "she was the only one committing the crime" and her husband "had nothing to do with it."
Although Melany admitted to stealing $5,300 worth of items from the Boca Raton Publix, she told police she had no choice because she was in "survival mode" and "has not worked since coming to the US" without a visa, per her arrest record.
The couple's case remains under investigation.