By: Zoe Nauman
When South African Olympic swimmer Charlene sobbed as she walked down the aisle with Prince Albert of Monaco, the world watched in horror as her fairytale turned into a nightmare.
Her tears signaled her inner turmoil after last-minute accusations of herhusband's further infidelity emerged.
Reports suggest Albert, 53, is attempting to convince his wife-of-one-week to stay at his side, with a hastily organized honeymoon at the luxurious $6800 a night Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga, on the Indian Ocean.
Although photos of a strained honeymoon kiss do not suggest romance.
Zimbabwe-born Wittstock, 33, who grew up in South Africa's Benoni, also the hometown of actress Charlize Theron, faces an emotional crisis as she copes with rumors Albert has fathered at least one illegitimate child to add to the two he already has.
With the results of the DNA test looming, it's alleged she got cold feet and attempted to escape.
French magazine L'Express claims she was stopped at the airport with a one-way ticket to South Africa.
A Monaco policeman alleges her passport was confiscated, so she had no choice but to attend the ceremony.
Hours before the wedding, in an interview with Vogue Daily, Wittstock said, "The photographs of me and Albert in love and getting married will speak louder than any vicious gossip."
But the "happy" snaps did the opposite, as the pair posed for strained kisses at the wedding and on their honeymoon and only after heavy insistence from the prince.
Even his speech at the reception was lacklustre, as he mumbled: "Charlene, thank you for putting up with, ah, my very busy schedule, ah, with my absences sometimes, with my ah, inconsistencies and idiosyncrasies. You are a wonderful, sometimes patient woman, with me."
But just who is Charlene Wittstock and how did she find herself in this unhappy position, in front of the world's cameras?
Swimming dominated the young tomboy Wittstock and she became a South African champion, competing at the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000.
It was through a swimming meeting in Monaco that year, she met Albert.
Wittstock says she knew he was "the one" and "felt weak at the knees."
Speaking to US Vogue, she revealed:
"He asked my management for permission to take me out. We spent the whole evening laughing and talking."
It was five years before the pair dated again, at the Turin Winter Olympics.
"It was clear that we shared the same passions," she said.
However, not such common ground are Albert's illegitimate children.
He has a son, Alexandre, 6, through Togolese air hostess Nicole Coste, and a daughter, Jazmin, 19, with Tamara Rotolo, an American estate agent.
Wittstock admits making the decision to be with Albert was not easy.
She tells Vogue, "It was sometimes overwhelming, I was trying to hard to please too many people and at times I was at risk of losing myself."
And she has said she found it difficult to fit in to the privileged and formal Monaco society. "The people I mixed with in Monaco didn't relate to my South African mentality or humor. I only have two people I consider friends here."
Pressure is on Wittstock to produce an all-important male heir, and as the couple continues their honeymoon, Albert will be working hard to improve relations.
What happens next is anyone's guess.