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The hockey mom and the nude pic: Why are we so intrigued by it?

Cape Town – On Wednesday morning Margharet van Wyk’s day probably started like any other. By Wednesday evening she was a trending topic on Twitter and a viral sensation – but for all the wrong reasons.

Margharet, who lives in a small town in South Africa, had her embarrassing moment turned into a nationwide joke. A screengrab showing a WhatsApp conversation between a group of hockey parents has been shared over and over again, exposing more of Margharet than she ever wanted the world to see.

The screengrab of the message shows a close-up nude photo of Margharet’s vagina.

The photo posted in the group “hokkie ouers” is followed by a message from Marieta Badenhorst exclaiming: “Sjoe”.

Margharet, now aware of her embarrassing mistake, tries to cover up. She replies with: “Sorry alma. Vekeerd gstu my man bedul sorry almal. Hi chris al gery.” (Sorry everyone. Made a mistake. Was meant for my husband. Hi Chris, have you left yet?)

Margharet’s moment of panic is followed-up by a message from Betsie: “Is jy nou nie weer op die verkeerde groep nie?” (Aren’t you sending that to the wrong group again?)

The WhatsApp exchange in the sports moms chat group is undoubtedly anyone’s worst nightmare. There was nothing poor Margharet could do now. Her photo was out there.

Then one of the mom’s in the WhatsApp group decided to screengrab the conversation and it somehow found its way online where it was shared from one person to another accompanied by the hashtag #MargaretVanWyk. At one point the hashtag was more popular than the Hawks/Pravin Gordhan drama.

Margharet’s embarrassing moment leaves us with more questions than answers. Was Margharet just trying to spice up her sex life with her husband? Who is Chris? Where was Chris? And what happened next?

Who is the real villain in the story?

The incident must have had a devastating effect on Margharet and her family – we all know how quick the gossip train moves through a small little town.

But who is the real villain in the hockey mom saga? Is it Margharet? Or Betsie with her sly reply? Or is it the mysterious person that took the screengrab and then leaked it online?

But Margharet’s story is not an unfamiliar one. Leaked nude photos are nothing new. From celebrities to regular folk – it could happen to anyone.

I’m sure Margharet wishes the world would swallow her whole right now – but she shouldn't let this get her down. The one that should be most ashamed is the snitch who decided to share Margharet’s misfortune with the world.

The drama has reached peak interest mostly because it delves deep into the theory that “we all have our little secrets”. It’s got all the ingredients for a spicy gossip story: The conservative Afrikaans mom with a sexy secret.

Adding fuel to the fire is the memes that quickly popped up just minutes after the story started going viral. There’s nothing the internet likes more than making fun of other people’s mistakes. It taps into our dark sadistic fantasies. We find joy in the misery as a sigh of relief because luckily this didn’t happen to us.

To Margharet a message of encouragement: This could have happened to anyone of us. Sorry it had to be you.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
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