Rob Verlinden (75) finds it very strange that he is still alive, but that his former Eigen Huis & Tuin colleagues Manuëla Kemp and Nico Zwinkels have already passed away. “Things can get weird.”
Manuëla Kemp died early last year at the age of 61 as a result of a scooter accident and Nico Zwinkels followed a few months later at the age of 80; he had esophageal cancer. Decades ago, they formed a team with Rob Verlinden on the first version of Eigen Huis & Tuin. At the age of 75, he is still in relatively good shape.
Doctors amazed
Yet Rob has all kinds of conditions. He is an HIV patient, has Parkinson’s disease, prostate cancer and heart failure. The latter even caused blindness in his right eye, he says in the Story. “I recently had to have cataract surgery.”
And then? “After the doctors were surprised by the effect on one eye, they immediately did the other eye. It is incredible, I have better vision in both eyes than ever. I can also continue to drive, but I had to drive again. The examiner said that my driver’s license is valid again for three years.”
Still alive
Rob counts his blessings. “It is painful to realize that I am the only one from the first presentation team who is still alive. First Manuëla Kemp, who was only 61, died, and then Nico, while we all always thought I would go first.”
He continues: “I can pretty much choose what I will die from. So you see how strange things can be in life. Unfortunately, my daughters Fleur and Roos now have to experience that too. Their mother, my ex-wife, died suddenly last year. She turned out to have cancer and within fourteen days she was gone.”
New man
After the divorce of his daughters’ mother, Rob was happy with his husband Robert Weijers for 27 years. They separated at the beginning of 2019 and a contested divorce followed. “I prefer not to look back on that period anymore. I am not depressed, but it was terrible.”
He continues: “Because of all the lawyers and the many lawsuits, I have lost almost all my money. There is nothing I can do to change that. There is no longer any contact with my ex-husband. I also have no idea where he lives now.”
And now? Does he want a new love? “Whether you are 25 or 75, love remains a beautiful thing.”