On this day in history: Dr Chris Barnard divorces his 2nd wife

On this day in history: Dr Chris Barnard divorces his 2nd wife

Acclaimed surgeon Dr Chris Barnard divorced his second wife on this day in history. Briefly.co.za looks at his three marriages.

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Dr Christiaan Neethling Barnard was arguably South Africa's most famous surgeon.

Barnard specialised in cardiac surgery and famously performed the world's first successful heart transplant.

Although he was acclaimed in the world of medicine, his personal life proved far more turbulent.

In fact, on January 13th, 1982, Barnard got divorced for a second time.

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While working as a doctor in Ceres, Barnard met his first wife Aletta Gertruida Louw, who worked as a nurse.

The couple married in 1948 and had two children together.

Briefly.co.za understands that international travel and fame placed pressure on their marriage and they divorced in 1969.

In his autobiography The Second Life, Barnard later revealed that he had an extramarital affair with Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida in 1968.

Barnard was a very busy man and subsequently married 19-year-old Barbara Zoellner in 1970 - she was the same age as his son at the time.

The couple also had two children, but divorced on this day in 1982.

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Incredibly, Barnard married for a third time in 1988 to another young model in the form of Karin Setzkorn.

He fathered two of her children as well.

Sadly, the third time was not the charm as the couple got divorced in 2000.

One year later, Dr Barnard lost his life after suffering an asthma attack.

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Source: Briefly News

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