It is no coincidence that Marco Borsato is pontificating on the cover of the latest Story with Leontine Ruiters in his arms, NU.nl thinks. “It is of course good for his image: the family man comes home.”
Marco Borsato is doing better than expected in terms of PR. After the acquittal in his fornication case, he politely addressed the waiting press and a few hours later he decided, in Leontine Ruiters’ driveway, to willingly pose for the Story paparazzo Edwin Smulders, who had rushed over. The two look intimately entwined straight into his camera (see below).
Key Leontine
According to experts, Leontine is the key to image recovery for Marco and he seems to listen carefully. According to Roos de Ridder of NU.nl’s The Backlap Podcast That photo of Story wasn’t exactly taken secretly. “In that photo they looked very much as if they had posed for a moment.”
Michiel Vos (not the pedantic American expert from RTL but his gossipy namesake from NU.nl) agrees. “Yes, especially that photo that is large on the cover. That was just a family portrait.”
Not coincidentally
It’s a bargain, Roos thinks. “Yes, so whether it is a complete coincidence: I am here waiting for you…”
According to Michiel, we are looking at a PR strategy here. “It is of course also nice for his image: the family man comes home. Then to his ex-wife, to what extent it is his ex-wife, and those children apparently came there one by one.”
Cynical
Marco has more or less invited the gossip press to Leontine’s driveway, Michiel believes. “It may be a bit cynical, but I don’t think it is a coincidence that after that acquittal he starts shouting: ‘Oh yes, my innocence has been proven and I am now going to my family.’”
If you want to go to Leontine and the children in peace, you are of course not going to announce that, he wants to say. “He is already starting to build his image as a huggable family man.”
Media manager
Their NU.nl colleague Maxime Jobs thinks Marco is very sophisticated. “So it wouldn’t surprise me if he already has someone in his employ, a media manager or whatever you call it, to figure out how best to get him back. The first step: ‘Call Edwin!’”
Michiel concludes: “It is presented in a certain way. It has to do with image. I don’t believe that is necessarily all coincidental.”
Story cover
The Story cover in question: