{"id":2332405,"date":"2026-03-17T01:30:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T01:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2332405"},"modified":"2026-03-17T01:30:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T01:30:02","slug":"watch-real-housewives-couples-arrest-for-allegedly-stealing-thousands-in-publix-groceries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/watch-real-housewives-couples-arrest-for-allegedly-stealing-thousands-in-publix-groceries\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch &#8216;Real Housewives&#8217; couple&#8217;s arrest for allegedly stealing thousands in Publix groceries"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>New body cam footage <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/03\/12\/celebrity-news\/real-housewives-couple-arrested-for-allegedly-stealing-thousands-in-sparkling-water-and-publix-groceries\/\">showing the arrests<\/a> of the \u201cReal Housewives\u201d stars suspected of stealing thousands of dollars\u2019 worth of groceries from a Florida Publix has been exclusively obtained by Page Six.<\/p>\n<p>In the clip, \u201cThe Real Housewives of Pretoria\u201d\u00a0stars Melany Viljoen and Petrus Viljoen, who are married, are seen separately being taken into custody by the Boca Raton police. <\/p>\n<p>Melany, 39, is seen answering the door wearing a bathrobe when cops arrived at her Florida home.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Page Six obtained the body cam footage of the March 10 arrests of the \u201cReal Housewives\u201d stars Melany Viljoen and Petrus Viljoen. <span class=\"credit\">Boca Raton Police<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cThe Real Housewives of Pretoria\u201d\u00a0star Melany was wearing a robe when cops arrested her at her apartment.  <span class=\"credit\">Boca Raton Police<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>She confirms to the authorities that there are no pets or people in the home before they allow her to change out of her robe and into clothes.<\/p>\n<p>Melany remains extremely calm and cooperative as law enforcement take her to a police vehicle.<\/p>\n<p>When asked if they can search her, she tells them, \u201cYou saw me naked,\u201d to which an officer replies, \u201cI know,\u201d as they continue the pat-down. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>She was able to change into clothes before being taken into custody.  <span class=\"credit\">Boca Raton Police<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>She was very cooperative during her arrest.  <span class=\"credit\">Boca Raton Police<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Meanwhile, Petrus, 57, was driving a black SUV when he was pulled over by police.<\/p>\n<p>After being asked to step out of his vehicle, Petrus, dressed in a gray T-shirt and jeans, looks confused and asks, \u201cAre you arresting me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The officer explains that he is being investigated for retail theft, is under arrest, and will be taken to the Palm Beach County Jail.<\/p>\n<p>When asked who his car is registered to, he said it was either under his or his wife\u2019s name, before telling police that Melany is at their apartment.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Petrus was pulled over while driving a black Range Rover.  <span class=\"credit\">Boca Raton Police<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>He was seen wearing a gray shirt and jeans.  <span class=\"credit\">Boca Raton Police<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Melany\u2019s husband was also cooperative.  <span class=\"credit\">Boca Raton Police<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The officer explains that he has been \u201cfully cooperative,\u201d and Petrus went on to thank her for explaining the next steps of his arrest.<\/p>\n<p>According to arrest records obtained by Page Six last week, the reality TV stars were taken into custody on March 10 and charged with aggravated\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2025\/11\/19\/celebrity-news\/rhop-alum-mia-thornton-arrested-on-theft-charges\/\">grand retail theft<\/a>\u00a0over $3,000. <\/p>\n<p>They are both being held on a $10,000 bond.<\/p>\n<p>The reality stars are part of the original cast of the South African installment of the beloved franchise, which premiered in 2022. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Page Six obtained their mugshots last week.  <span class=\"credit\">Palm Beach County Sheriff Office<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>They were charged with aggravated\u00a0grand retail theft\u00a0over $3,000.  <span class=\"credit\">Palm Beach County Sheriff Office<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Police launched a six-month retail theft investigation on Aug. 29 after a \u201cwhite male and female\u201d were caught on CCTV footage entering the Publix and \u201cticket switching,\u201d according to the arrest records.<\/p>\n<p>Ticket switching is a form of shoplifting in which \u201ca price tag or UPC barcode from a less expensive item is placed onto a more expensive item to pay a lower price,\u201d according to the Boca Raton Police Department.<\/p>\n<p>They were allegedly seen on security footage leaving the grocery store with carts filled with expensive items after <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/12\/06\/lifestyle\/wealthy-americans-are-more-likely-to-steal-from-self-checkouts-report\/\">avoiding the self-checkout lane<\/a>, according to authorities. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>They are accused of stealing several items from Publix, including sparkling waters and wine.  <span class=\"credit\">peetviljoen_law\/instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>They are also accused of stealing other items like toilet paper.  <span class=\"credit\">peetviljoen_law\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The couple is accused of stealing a total of 392 items across 52 transactions between August 2025 and March 2026, according to authorities. <\/p>\n<p>Reported stolen items during their alleged 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.<\/p>\n<p>Police claim they are also suspected of stealing toilet paper, soda, produce and more groceries.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The couple starred in \u201cThe Real Housewives of Pretoria\u201d starting in 2022.  <span class=\"credit\">kyknettv<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>They are due back in court next month.  <span class=\"credit\">peetviljoen_law\/instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>According to the incident report, Melany told police that her husband \u201chad nothing to do with it\u201d and \u201cshe was the only one committing the crime.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Melany admitted to stealing $5,300 worth of items from the Boca Raton Publix, however, the TV personality told cops she was in \u201csurvival mode\u201d because she hasn\u2019t been able to work since coming to the US without a visa, according to the arrest record. <\/p>\n<p> The investigation is ongoing and Melany and Petrus are due in court on April 9. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source pagesix.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New body cam footage showing the arrests of the \u201cReal Housewives\u201d stars suspected of stealing thousands of dollars\u2019 worth of groceries from a Florida Publix has been exclusively obtained by Page Six. In the clip, \u201cThe Real Housewives of Pretoria\u201d\u00a0stars Melany Viljoen and Petrus Viljoen, who are married, are seen separately being taken into custody [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2332406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25177],"tags":[29953,351942,24003,25404,22373,23181,23662,24122,21913],"class_list":["post-2332405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrities","tag-celebrity-arrests","tag-celebrity-crimes","tag-celebrity-news","tag-exclusive","tag-florida","tag-police","tag-real-housewives","tag-reality-tv","tag-tv"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Watch-Real-Housewives-couples-arrest-for-allegedly-stealing-thousands-in.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2332405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2332405"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2332405\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2332407,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2332405\/revisions\/2332407"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2332406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2332405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2332405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2332405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}