Backstage Crowd

There are often such nice people working backstage that it's almost a shame that no TV show is made about them. This summer, I fell in love with reporter Marc. When I asked him, ”Are you gay?” (which was a reasonable open door), he replied, “Like Christmas, darling.” We shared a hallway, and I sometimes heard him sneak into his room deep in the night. He always did it neatly, even when there were more than three glasses of white wine consumed.

Executive producer Femke is always and forever in a state of utmost calm. It probably isn't true, but that's the vibe she gives off. After the first day of filming was behind us, she ran after my car. I had forgotten my book and a fresh Vogue . In New York, she walked into the courtyard of our hotel with a fresh coffee for editor Riena. And on the last day, she even bought fabulous pink sneakers for her daughters and her neighbor girls. I nominate her for the hardest working, most calmly happy, and most attentive woman on earth.

Then there was editor Riena. For the first time, she was at the helm of this program, and as Fred whispered: “Riena is master.” Every morning, she sat with a cigarette on the left, coffee on the right, laptop in front of her, in the courtyard of our hotel. Dirk, Anouk, and I were brutally separated because looking at photos together and forming an opinion didn't seem like a good idea to her. So we took turns politely entering Riena's space to determine what we thought and what we would say during the broadcast. Riena is the kind of editor who always asks a little more, sometimes even pulls a bit, so that the best always comes out. The adage of having a man in the evening and a man in the morning suits her perfectly. She was always the first to finish with her self-built outdoor office, and in the evening, she really came into her own. Limoncello at dinner, watching that British pub football in the street (football, by the way, is also a Serious Matter for Riena; I watched the semi-final with her, and I can tell you it wasn't good for my heart) until the last night when she stayed until 5:00 AM in Le Bain (the rooftop bar of The Standard Hotel).

When we were all on our way to our own Dutch homes, she sent a message in the group chat. “I had a wonderful time working with you all. Just that going out, that was a bit disappointing.” Fred is right. Riena, you are a master, and I already miss you.