Oscar Pistorius, who killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013, has reportedly found love again with a long-term family friend, who he has bonded with over shared trauma
Convicted killer Oscar Pistorius has already found a new love after being released from jail.
The disgraced Paralympian, 38, is reportedly rebuilding his life under the radar. He avoids going to bars and restaurants and has bagged a job cleaning a church thanks to his uncle’s connections.
While he has a dark past of his own after murdering his own girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine’s Day 2013, his new partner, Rita Greyling, has suffered her own tragedy with the unexplained death of her brother’s close friend. Pistorius was granted parole on January 5 this year, insisting he killed law graduate and model Reeva, 29, by mistake, after serving nine years for the murder at his home in Pretoria, South Africa.
The double amputee, dubbed “Blade Runner” for the prosthetics he used to compete in the Olympics and Paralympics, ended her life in his bathroom. The former Golden Boy of athletics claimed he woke up in the early hours, thinking a burglar was breaking in, unaware his girlfriend Reeva was in the loo.
He fired repeated shots through the door, killing her instantly with special “dum-dum” bullets – and Reeva’s family have always claimed it was intentional. And now respected South African newspaper Netwerk24 is now reporting that Pistorius, who lives with his uncle in a fortified mansion in Pretoria, is in love again.
They have revealed that he is dating the 33-year-old long-term family friend, from Wakkerstroom in Mpumulanga, and works as a business management consultant. Sources close to the couple have confirmed to Netwerk24 that Pistorius and Greyling are in a romantic relationship though details are being kept strictly private.
It isn’t the first time his new love’s family has made headlines as in late 2022, her brother Ghini was involved in a devastating incident at Henbase Lodge, Morgenzon, at his bachelor party in November 2022. According to local reports, Willem Kruger attended the gathering before disappearing and was found dead nine days later.
The 29-year-old farmer, who was set to be a groomsman at Ghini’s wedding, was found by police in his Toyota truck – submerged in the Vaal River next to the lodge. In December 2023, police said that his death had escalated from accidental to a murder inquiry.
Friends said that the tragedies surrounding both the Pistorius and Greyling families drew them together, and their reported romance marks a fresh start for both of them. George Herald reports that investigators are stumped on several parts of the case, including where the keys were recovered from and the amount of time the vehicle was underwater.
Sources say the couple have supposedly bonded over the tragedies surrounding their families. A source allegedly close to Pistorius said: “He is trying to rebuild his life in a low-key way and avoids bars and restaurants and the general public and is flying under the radar.
“He is slowly trying to reintegrate into society but that is being done through families that his family have been close to for decades and is slowly slowly. The word on the street for three months now is that he is dating again.”
Pistorius is living in a cottage in the grounds of his multi-millionaire uncle Arnold’s secure mansion and is doing volunteer work at a Dutch Reform Church nearby. “I almost didn’t recognize him,” Aida Govender told The New York Post after spotting him at the church while visiting with her relatives.
“His hair is longer and he’s got a beard. He’s also not as lean as I expected. You would never know he was an athlete, he’s just not the same.” The outlet also reported Pistorius has been in contact with two members of the International Paralympic Committee in hopes of working together.
He is understood to have been rejected in these attempts. “He’s too toxic to work with now,” one of the members said, anonymously. “There’s nothing for him here.”
His sentence ends in 2029 and as on parole, he is subject to checks from the Department of Corrections at any time of day to check his residence test for alcohol and drugs. He is not allowed out of the immediate area without informing the local police force and is not allowed a firearm or any contact with Reeva Steenkamp’s mum or sister.
Steenkamp’s family said they are “still serving a life sentence,” following Pistorius’ release. “My only desire is that I will be allowed to live my last years in peace with my focus remaining on the Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp Foundation, to continue Reeva’s legacy,” her mother June said.
