Of all the places in Brabant, love seems to last the longest in Boekel. This is because relatively the smallest number of divorced people live here. This is evident from CBS figures that comparison site Independer has listed. Jo Manders from Venhorst, who has been married for almost 60 years, understands why.
First the numbers. In the whole of Brabant, 1 in 11 people live separately. That’s 9 percent. These are people who were once married, but never got married again.
Helmond is the worst in that respect. There, 11 percent of adults are divorced. But 20 kilometers away in Boekel, the love ground seems much more fertile. There, 6 percent live divorced without ever remarrying.
“Give and take, that’s the secret.”
“I think people are more accepting of each other here than in other places,” Bert thinks. “We are just more satisfied here. People are much more stressed in the city.”
“It’s mainly good people here, I think,” says Tinus. “That’s just innate. They agree well here.” He himself has been married for more than 40 years. “Still with the same. It’s just give and take.” And they can do that a little better in Boekel? “I think so,” says Tinus.
“It’s just nicer to live here.”
Give and take, according to Jo Manders, that is also the secret. She has been married for 57 years. “Being a little calm and patient every now and then. That’s also important,” she says. “In 1966 we got married. And in 1993 we were the farmer’s couple. So we got married twice. Maybe that’s the secret.”
All these reasons do not really say much about Boekel itself. “It’s also just nicer to live here,” Bert continues. “And that’s good for your marriage. Most people know each other. That also helps. You have more distractions.”
