André van Duin (78) nowadays goes through life with a man who lived in Mallorca before their relationship: Fernando Reyes. Does the comedian quit his TV career to retire there?
The retirement age has now been well exceeded by André van Duin. The 78-year-old artist is still frequently used by Omroep MAX, but the question is how long he will continue to do so. His broadcasting colleague Martine van Os is ten years younger, but at one point she went to work every day complaining. How does André keep it up?
Long journey
Is there a chance that we will soon see André move to his home island of Mallorca with his beloved Fernando Reyes? Or do they not want to go on a nice long trip? “No. Fernando is. I am not the traveler,” says André in the Party.
Fernando then: “I’m more into traveling. But because we spend a lot of time in Mallorca and also here in the Netherlands, our plan is to enjoy each other. From Mallorca, because it is close by, we make small trips to Madrid or to Alicante. That’s a trip somewhere for three or four days.”
Everything around you
Where is Mallorca actually located? “Mallorca is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea,” André explains. “Everything is around you.”
Fernando: “For example, it is only a half-hour flight to Nice in France.”
André: “I like flying for half an hour. I don’t mind flying, but I’m not looking forward to it either.”
But will André soon live in Mallorca? “No. I don’t. Fernando must have lived there.”
Coming home
Fernando would like it. “I am always very happy in Mallorca, but that is because I have lived there for so long, I have my people there. It is coming home for me.”
André: “He’s actually a Spaniard.”
Fernando: “I have lived in Spain longer than in the Netherlands. I speak Spanish fluently. And I know a lot of people in Mallorca from the dance world where I worked.”
Forty years
How long did Fernando live there? “I had a wonderful time in Mallorca for forty years, with all the dance performances I was able to do there. But the plan that André and I have together is that we can be together for a long time and grow old together.”
Are they getting married too? There are regular rumors about marriage. “I always say, ‘Never say never.’ You may suddenly think: let’s do it for that reason, or this or that. But we’re just fine with each other. André always says: ‘The paper mill is in perfect order’.”