Troubled Ghana defender John Paintsil has defended why he is refusing to sign divorce documents, saying he is determined to fix his marital problems.
The South Africa-based player’s marriage has been on the rocks since January last year when he was arrested for beating up his wife Richlove Paintsil following a dispute.
Early this week, reports said Richlove had filed for separation at an Accra High Court but the Santos player has refused to sign.
Richlove is seeking divorce after accusing the former Fulham player of infidelity and neglecting his responsibility with regard to the family’s upkeep.
“I’ve told her [Richlove] that there’s no way I’ll end the marriage because our children are at stake and we would jeopardise their future if we separated,” Paintsil told an Accra-based radio station.
“As for me John Paintsil I’m not ready to agree to a divorce; we’ll stay together until our children are old enough to be on their own. Whatever has gone wrong that she’s unhappy about, we’ll have to talk about it.
“Until I left for South Africa, there was no serious problem between us.
“Everything was going on well until the newspaper publication after the Nations Cup. But we resolved it before I left for South Africa.
“Since then our marriage has been on and off, but it’s not the kind of case to lead to a divorce.
“I told the so-called lawyer I was not ready to discuss any such thing. I’m not ready to leave her.
“She once told me she had sold my pure water manufacturing machines and that a court had also ordered her to sell my white [Infinity Armada] car.”