Beau's heart cries

For a week now we have to miss him every evening, but Beau van Erven Dorens has his evenings back and we wish him that, moving forward. Don't think for a second that he's lying on the couch watching Netflix, because if there's one thing you can say about Beau's schedule, it's that it's full. There's always an ocean to cross in a rowing boat or a mountain to climb backwards.

Nice B, if you could give your life a score today, what would it be and why?

‘A nine. I feel incredibly blessed and really happy with my life. I am healthy and my loved ones and my children are healthy. My parents are still alive, that's all that really matters. I don't give it a 10 because the kids have all left home and I find that super lonely. But other than that… Only fun things.’

No late night for you. Does it feel like you're taking off a wetsuit and suddenly jumping into the water naked?

‘If I don't have a late night, I can sleep well and after a week I feel all the energy flowing back into me. Then I jump out of bed with the thought: wow, this is going to be an amazing day, today I'm going to write a book, I'm going to make a song, I'm going to swim across a sea. Then I really have plans for twenty.’

You are team captain for Beste Kijkers and meanwhile working on a great multimedia project. Can you tell us something about that?

‘I get to fill in for Ruben Nicolai at Beste Kijkers, very educational, and I'm almost off to Sardinia for a new series of Casa di Beau. Once that's finished, I'm going on vacation with my family. That's what I'm really looking forward to the most. In the meantime, I'm working on a few projects besides television and one of them is a kind of lifestyle brand for men. It's more of a movement than a brand, romantically speaking. Returning to nature and having beautiful adventures with your friends, that's really what I'm made for.’

And how is your heart now that you suddenly have an empty nest? Or do all the birds flutter back into the nest during the summer vacation?

‘The nest is empty, I'm writing a handbook for empty nesters mainly for myself. I've been working on it for two years because I saw it coming. And as I thought it would be, it has been. It's just painful. Coming downstairs and seeing empty rooms. I can't even talk about it without bursting into tears. Life in our house will never be as fun as it was with them. I found it such a wonderful celebration. They have all flown the nest and they come home very often, because we live in Amsterdam and eventually all roads lead to Amsterdam. That's where the pubs are that they like to visit with their old friends. Sally and I love each other, but it's still different. We're sitting there just the two of us in that big house with two cats. Dealing with that is sad on one hand, they are building their lives and that's how it should be, but on the other hand: I can now also do everything, tackle new adventures. I'm still a young flower, sort of, so that's something nice.’

Okay Beau, back to this column. It's Friday at 5 PM. Where are you, what are you doing, is there something in your glass?

‘Friday evening doesn't mean much to me, except when I have the talk show. Then I like that the week is almost over, I go have a beer afterwards because during the week I don't drink a drop. On Saturday I get up early, go exercise or swim or play tennis, then to the market and then spend the whole day cooking. Then I definitely open a bottle of wine, preferably one of those wines my producer gives me, because those are those nice thick, rich wines.’

What does an average Beau weekend look like?

‘Weekends are really the same for me as weekdays. I prefer to jump out of bed at half past seven. That sounds a bit ADHD-ish, but I just love walking through the city. I swim in the Amstel or kite surf or do exciting things every day. Moving, preferably with my children.’

Suppose earthly matters like time difference, flight shame, money, and travel time don't exist for a moment. What does your ideal weekend look like?

Starting at Lake Como and then sailing over the Orinoco and via a Californian vineyard to a pub that smells like beer to eat a bitterball?
‘I would love to cook with my children and my parents. Then I start shopping at the market at 3 PM. Around five I open a bottle of wine and the guests arrive. Then we start eating oysters and drinking champagne with all the boys at the table. Preferably after dinner we get ice cream at Van Soest or an Italian place, and maybe we catch a movie. I find that very nice too.’