Maye has been refreshingly honest about their relationship. She’s called Errol “very controlling” and said he made her feel worthless. For a woman who now struts down runways in her 70s, that’s a gut punch. He didn’t hit her, she says, but the emotional abuse was constant. He’d belittle her, mock her ambitions, and treat her like a trophy he’d set on a shelf and forgot to polish.
But here’s the twist: Errol was also a genius in his own way. He built a hydra-pneumatic crane (whatever that is), drove a Rolls-Royce, and flew a plane. He was the sort of man who could fix a helicopter and then break your spirit. Maye once said he was “great in the beginning,” but that the “magic went away.” By the time Elon was a teenager, the marriage was a frozen wasteland of resentment.
Elon Musk's mother Maye opens up about abusive marriage to ex-husband Errol
The Big Breakup (and the Bigger Revenge)
So, how did Maye escape? In 1979, after nine years of marriage, she filed for divorce. She walked out with three kids, no money, and a burning desire to never feel small again. Errol, in a move that screams “petty,” fought for custody of the kids—not because he wanted them, but to win. That’s right: he used his own children as chess pieces. Classy, Errol. Real classy.
But Maye, being the queen she is, fought back. She worked multiple jobs, slept on a mattress on the floor, and raised her brilliant, weird kids to become billionaires and filmmakers. Errol, meanwhile, faded into the background. For a while, he was just the ex-husband who didn’t pay child support.
Elon Musk's mother Maye opens up about abusive marriage to ex-husband Errol
Then, in 2017, the media discovered something juicy. Errol, at age 72, had a baby with his stepdaughter. Yes, you read that right. His stepdaughter, Jana Bezuidenhout, who is 25 years younger than him. They had a daughter together, and Errol was shockingly unapologetic. He even told the press: “We are the only people on Earth who care.” Yeah, that’s one way to spin it, buddy.
