Yusof Haslam and Patimah Ismail tied the knot in 1982. Photo: mStar
Malaysian producer and director Datuk Yusof Haslam revealed that his wife, Datin Patimah Ismail, once ran away for a month after he was accused of cheating on her.
In a recent interview with Harian Metro, Yusof said Patimah ran away to a pondok school in Pokok Sena, Kedah to strengthen her religious knowledge.
"My family and I were at a dead end at the time because we didn't know where my wife ran off to. She didn't have her phone on her either.
"Our children were also really young back then, and we had just moved into a new home," the 70-year-old told the daily.
Yusof added that the accusations against him were defamatory as he never cheated or committed any huge offence.
The filmmaker also mentioned that he and his personal assistant took care of the children throughout Patimah's absence.
With the help of his father-in-law, Yusof managed to locate Patimah and convinced her to return home by assuring that he had never and would never do anything bad behind her back.
"Honestly, the persuasion process took a long time. I don't blame her because in the entertainment industry, we are susceptible to all kinds of gossip," he said.
Meanwhile, Patimah said this incident served as a life lesson.
"When I was in the pondok school, many of my teachers had two or three wives, while I had just heard some gossip and ran away to the end of the world.
"Alhamdulillah my husband is very patient. Even though he may appear fierce, he is very loving and soft-hearted," she said.
Yusof and Patimah tied the knot in 1982. The couple share four children – Faizal, Syamsul, Shamin and Syafiq.
