Subway traditionally rounds off the year with a series of interviews underthe name ‘Het Jaar Van’. Conversations with people for whom the past year wasvery special in one way or another. In part 3 we speak with Astrid de Wit(49), whom we all suddenly got to know as the characteristic B&B owner in B&B Full of Love.
B &B Full of Love is such a program that many Dutch people sat down for.including myself, Subway reporter Julia Osendarp. I hadn’t seen the firstseason and honestly didn’t quite understand the hype. Until I too was suckedinto all the drama, awkwardness and yes, the romantic vicissitudes in foreignB&Bs.
Astrid de Wit was one of those candidates you won’t easily forget. Hersomewhat strict rules, the well-known ‘border’ and doubts to bind. although B&B Full of Love_e-viewers with an ‘open end’ left on the couch, Astrid finallyfound love with Harmjan. And got them _love story a fairytale twist, withmarriage in prospect.
Astrid’s Year was a roller coaster with solid loops
The phone rings from Austria. Astrid and her fiancé are busy getting the B&Bready for new guests. After our conversation, they are expected at an AustrianChristmas market. Their hometown is already covered in snow and after theinterview she and Harmjan go for a mulled wine. You can’t imagine a moreromantic winter feeling.
Astrid describes her year as a “rollercoaster” and she explains a few thingsabout it. “My company was not closed between winter and summer. At the time Iwas on my own and I was responsible for two children.” In May, a camera crewshowed up there to film for three weeks B &B Full of Love. “At the sametime, my work continued and the broadcasts came on television. It felt like arollercoaster in every way. And not only negative, but certainly alsopositive. The roller coaster went up and down with the occasional solidlooping in between.”
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The Year 2022 of…
Four articles can be read this week in Subways The Year Of :
Reverse side of B&B Full of Love
Although the program brought Astrid love, she did not experience herparticipation as just roses and moonshine. She and Harmjan have already spokenout about the downside of their television appearance. “The first few weeks Iwas completely upset after every broadcast. I never saw that coming.” In doingso, Astrid explains that a caricature of her was sketched in the episodes.“Everything I have said and done has just happened. But there is a beginningand an end to such a situation. They can do a lot with television. I steppedinto it open-minded and naive and I seriously underestimated everything.”Because according to Astrid, there is a lot of cutting and pasting involved.“I thought when I looked back at myself: ‘What have I done?’ or “Is thatcoming out of my mouth?”. In addition, I was not feeling well during therecordings.”
Hard reactions
The B&B owner also did not understand that the focus was so much on her. “Ikept thinking, ‘What are they going to do with me? I am a simple mother with acompany in Austria.” Because television-watching Netherlands regularly likedAstrid and the reactions were not tender. “In the beginning I read thereactions, but they came in hard. I was still in the middle of my season atthe time and just had guests during the broadcasts. Harmjan was still thereduring the recordings and we supported each other. But when the broadcastscame on television, he was not in Austria.” And Astrid experienced that periodas a tough week. “I no longer functioned and cried for days. You can call metough or weird, because I was also weird on television. But attacking me on mymotherhood or business, you should stay away from that.”
The B&B owner chooses to delete all her social media channels. “I decided notto read anything anymore, because I have a responsibility for my guests andfamily. But you have to be really strong to deal with this. I sincerely feelsorry for the well-known Netherlands. Words can linger for a long time.”
Harmjanand Astrid Photo: Astrid de Wit
Harmjan also joins in
She explains that the participants of B &B Full of Love join in to findlove. The makers are busy producing a program. “That clashes and that ispossible. We have a different goal. There is nothing wrong with that, but wejust had other interests.” And whether she would advise new participants? “No,I am who I am and I cannot pretend otherwise. If you want to participate, youhave to go for it.” At that moment we hear Harmjan laughing loudly in thebackground, who emphasizes that Astrid is indeed “who she is”.
Because despite the tough confrontation with the television world, somethingvery beautiful emerged from her participation. Namely the love between herand, now engaged, Harmjan. She describes May 7 as the ultimate highlight ofher year. “Then he stepped into my life.” She describes Harmjan as the love ofher life. Without him, she would have regretted her participation. But Harmjanapparently heals all wounds. Occasionally he briefly intervenes in theconversation and the couple regularly has to laugh with and around each other.Which is contagious on this one Subway -journalist.
‘Border’ incident and children
Whether the B&B owner has learned anything from her television appearance? The’border’ incident is cited. “Most viewers have seen my big failure. Peoplejudge that on the internet. It wasn’t until I saw the episode that I realizedwhat an outburst like that does to someone. And then running away. Now I sawwhat that did to someone I love. That is horrible and I have certainly learnedfrom that.”
Astrid has a son and a daughter. But how did they watch the episodes in whichtheir mother appeared? “My kids thought everything was funny. Son Olivier evenfelt proud. The teacher of his school suggested that the broadcasts of B &BFull of Love view in class. Olivier actually only wanted to show the episodein which I got angry,” she laughs. Her children also notice that their motheris now a well-known Dutchman. A large part of the guests Astrid has receivedrecently, knew her from television. “I then say: ‘Tough that you still dare tocome,’” she jokes. In the Netherlands, too, she sometimes feels like a touristattraction. “I find that very strange, because I am just Astrid. And nowpeople suddenly turn their heads.”
Astridand her family. Photo: Astrid de Wit
From slats to ‘on the slats’ in Austria
Although the couple now calls each other engaged, it was not immediately clearduring the broadcast that Astrid and Harmjan found love together. “I felteverything from the moment he stepped into my life. But you don’t express thatright away, you fight against it and you don’t show it. We also visited eachother outside the cameras and I felt a click there. But with the camerasinvolved, I couldn’t quite allow that. It made me tense and stressed. I feltlike I was walking on eggshells and didn’t dare to show anything. That’s whyit ended with an ‘open end’.” But when Harmjan leaves for the Netherlands, theloss begins for both. “A week after his departure he was back on the doorstep.When I saw him it was right away, everything fell off me.”
At the beginning of their ‘long-distance relationship’, Harmjan came toAustria on weekends. Despite the distance, the couple spends a lot of timetogether and go on vacation together. “We then started a serious discussionabout how we did that with the children and whether we would continue to ski.In fact, the children were at the forefront of this. They were more offendedif Harmjan had visited and they had not seen him. And in September he came toAustria after all.”
Marriage after B&B Full of Love
And now there has even been a real marriage proposal in the Austrianmountains. How did that go? “We already talked about getting married. Harmjantold me that if he moved to Austria, he would also ask me to marry him.”Harmjan informs Astrid’s children and asks them for permission. And thereAstrid met her family, before they went out for dinner, with Harmjan on oneknee. “I never expected that to happen in my life. But what we have togetheris something so special. We live together, are on each other’s lips 24 hours aday, he participates in the family and business and there is regularity. Thatis all going very well. I have never experienced that feeling that he gives meevery day.” And Harmjan shouts in the background: “That is mutual.” Themarriage is not yet planned, because the B&B owner emphasizes that she iscurrently busy. “I can’t close for a week now for a wedding,” she laughs.“That will probably be in the fall of 2023 or 2024.”
‘Harmjan is my rock’
Although they are in B &B Full of Love may have come out as the strict B&Bkeeper, Astrid emphasizes that she can be “quite sweet too”. Of which Harmjansays that the “sweet moments predominate”. Astrid therefore wants to toast tolove on the edge of 2022. And what makes her happy during this time? “Beingoutside, taking a long walk, a snow shower, a fire or drinking a mulled wine.Those are the little moments of happiness.” She is 2022 most grateful for herHarmjan. “He accepts me completely as I am, with all my flaws, and never turnshis back on me.” Then there is a moment of silence on the phone. “We are bothcrying,” she laughs. “Harmjan is my rock and I have a lot of admiration forhim and I know that I can also be his rock when he is having a hard time.”
Astrid, Harmjan and the children in theAustrian snow Photo: Astrid de Wit
_Tonight at 8 p.m. the kick-off of a new season of B &B Vol Love will appearon RTL 4. The first images of the newest bachelors have already arrived. _