Mark Rutte open about the loss of his mother and his love life

Wow, that was quite a ratings hit, Linda's Winterweek. Almost 1.9 million people were glued to their screens... And I wasn't one of them. No, I watched it back this morning, so that's perfectly fine too. The guests were Floortje Dessing (can I please still look that good at fifty?) and none other than Mark Rutte, who simply addressed Linda with ‘you‘. Well, that’s just how it is when you’re Linda de Mol and you’re comfortably sitting on the couch with Mark.

But even more striking was how open and honest Mark Rutte was. I didn't really expect that. Of course, we’ve mostly seen him in recent months during press conferences and yes, then he sometimes comes across as a strict but involved teacher trying to motivate you for an upcoming exam. Because we really have to do our best. But that wasn't the Mark Rutte who was sitting on the couch now.

He spoke candidly about the loss of his mother, which happened in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. ‘At that time, the protocol was that if it was acute, you could go. So I went there immediately at night. The next day my sister went to sit with her and by the end of that day she passed away,’ he said among other things. Phew, so intense. And then just standing there to address the Dutch people: incredibly brave.

But his love life was also not left unspoken. He described himself as not the easiest and a rather Hague boy. He doesn’t miss a woman in his life and no, he’s not looking either. ‘Things happen as they happen. I have incredibly nice friends and who knows, at some point I might be sitting hand in hand on the couch. That could happen and if it does, we’ll see. I take life a bit as it comes,’ he said, and thus Mark Rutte became single goals in 2020. Delightfully down-to-earth. You’ll see how it all goes.

It can’t be helped that Mark Rutte gained a whole bunch of new fans after last night. Probably around 1.9 million, because those who were already fans have only become more so. What a nice interview.