Mel Viljoen Revisits Tammy Taylor Drama and Explains US Move: “We Wanted to Expand Our Business”

• Mel Viljoen addressed the controversial Tammy Taylor saga and its impact on her business ventures
• In an interview with eNCA, she also shared why she and her husband, Peet Viljoen, relocated to the United States
• The reality TV star also alleged that her husband, Peet Viljoen, had passed the bar exam in the United States

Reality TV star Mel Viljoen has revisited the Tammy Taylor saga. The former Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip star also shared why she and her husband relocated from South Africa to the United States.

Mel Viljoen grabbed headlines for the wrong reasons after footage of her storming out of an interview with eNCA journalist Sli Sebata on Tuesday, 9 June 2026. Before she angrily walked out of the interview, Mel Viljoen had revisited the Tammy Taylor controversy, where the celebrity couple was involved in legal disputes over the wrongful use of the franchise name.

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Mel Viljoen revisits the Tammy Taylor saga

Mel, who previously addressed allegations that she and her husband have outstanding charges in South Africa, pushed back against the narrative portraying them as criminals. She said that because people such as Happy Simelane, who lost money after buying a Tammy Taylor franchise at Menlyn Mall, Pretoria, for R2.8 million cash, lost money, it doesn’t mean that she and her husband are criminals.

“To this day, I have not been convicted of any crimes. My husband has not been convicted of any crimes. And I spoke to a lot of lawyers, and they say just because someone felt like their business didn't work out, doesn't make me a criminal,” she said.

She said that they relocated from South Africa to the United States to expand their franchising business. Mel told Sebata that they wanted to work with a new business partner after their unpleasant experience with Tammy Taylor.

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Video: Mel Viljoen storms out of eNCA interview after tough question

“We wanted to expand our business, you know, the franchising of nails into the US, and we also wanted to develop our own products in the US so that we can expand from the US back into South Africa,” Mel Viljoen explained.

Mel Viljoen explains why they relocated to the US

She further claimed that the business relationship with Tammy Taylor had initially included permission to use the brand trademark, but said there were later disagreements over franchising rights. Viljoen added that the couple intended to revive their franchising business by signing a partnership with Guccio Nails in the United States.

“Everybody knows we had some drama with the Tammy Taylors and that she had some false accusations on social media about her identity and her trademark, where, in the end, it was basically just a trademark issue, towards the end, because we approached her many years ago, and she gave us the go-ahead to use the trademark. But she never said we could do franchising. Franchising was our business, it was our idea, it was our model. And so, everybody knows about that. So, we were hoping to, you know, kind of restart the franchising industry with Guccio Nails in Los Angeles,” Mel Viljoen said.

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She also claimed that her husband Peet Viljoen, who was disbarred from practising law in South Africa due to a scandal, was going to practice law in the United States after allegedly passing the bar exam. Mel Viljoen also said that several unnamed South African judges and lawyers wrote referral letters on his behalf.

“We went to see the guy, and that was the plan ultimately, and also Peet wrote the bar exam. He did very, very well. He was going to practice as a lawyer. He got some great referrals from South African judges and South African lawyers that we gave to the bar for his moral character application. So, we were very, very excited for him to practice law and for us to now, you know, expand on this new Guccio Nail product and nail school, you know, from the US back into South Africa, and just to leave the Tammy Taylor behind,” Mel Viljoen claimed.

Mel Viljoen reacts after storming out of eNCA interview

Meanwhile, Briefly News previously reported that Mel Viljoen broke her silence after she walked out of an interview with journalist Sli Sebata.

She defended her actions on Instagram Stories and reshared actor Rico Fourie's story after he publicly supported her.

Source: Briefly News