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The cast of Haantjes season 2 tells us everything about open relationships: ‘I am not made for that monogamous’

By Hanna Oonincx | #!31Wed, 20 May 2026 08:00:40 +0200+02:004031#31Wed, 20 May 2026 08:00:40 +0200+02:00-8Europe\/Amsterdam3131Europe\/Amsterdam202631 20am31am-31Wed, 20 May 2026 08:00:40 +0200+02:008Europe\/Amsterdam3131Europe\/Amsterdam2026312026Wed, 20 May 2026 08:00:40 +0200008005amWednesday=9#!31Wed, 20 May 2026 08:00:40 +0200+02:00Europe\/Amsterdam5#05-20-2026#!31Wed, 20 May 2026 08:00:40 +0200+02:004031#\/31Wed, 20 May 2026 08:00:40 +0200+02:00-8Europe\/Amsterdam3131Europe\/Amsterdam202631#!31Wed, 20 May 2026 08:00:40 +0200+02:00Europe\/Amsterdam5#

Dear Haantjes fans, grab a beer (0.0% is of course also allowed, after all we live in modern times) and plop down comfortably on the couch. The second season full of bravado is available on Netflix. When we heard that the cast would come to the padel club The Bubble Club where we see them in almost every episode, we knew we had to hit the court with them. With questions that made them sweat more than the sport itself and a 30-seconds-like Amayzine’s Guess What (those hilarious moments you can watch here) we headed towards Blaricum. While season 1 revolved around the roosters Mike, Daan, Ivo, and Greg trying to find themselves in a changing world, season two according to André Dongelmans (Greg in the series) takes a completely different course. And he immediately shares a striking opinion about open relationships, which his co-star Jelka van Houten (Merel in the series) clearly disagrees with. High time to put everything Haantjes in a row together.

Just a refresher

So backtrack a bit, because before you binge the eight episodes of season 2 in one go, you need to remember how the guys were at the end of the previous season. The story picks up right where we left off. Pam (Jennifer Hoffman) and Daan (Waldemar Torenstra) have spent a season trying to see if an open relationship (including a threesome) could work for them, but ultimately conclude that it does not work for them. Pam returns her ring, after which Daan goes to his friend Mike (Jeroen Spitzenberger), who in turn is left alone again. Influencer Stevie (Eva Laurenssen) has dumped him live on TV, because she can no longer deal with the inequality between the two: was he working for her after his dismissal or with her? The other men also step into the next part of the series with their own relationship troubles. Ivo (Benja Bruijning) is, much to the disappointment of daughter Tess (Frouke Verheijde), back with Desirée (Fockeline Ouwerkerk) after four years of separation. As a direct result of a series of unsuccessful Tinder dates arranged by Tess. And while open monogamy completely falls apart for one, it seems to be going the other way for another. Because in the first season, Merel cheats on her husband Greg when she goes with a younger gym trainer. In the end, they try to fix that by drawing outside the lines of a traditional marriage.

Who is in real life just as much of a rooster?

That Greg and Merel in the series are quite enthusiastic about the idea of an open relationship, does not mean that the cast feels the same way in real life. Jelka, in any case, wants nothing to do with it; her husband is far too nice for that. But André is completely on board with it. He tells us that he is not made for monogamous existence: “I like that if I were to meet someone I would want to flirt with, that it is allowed.” Frouke also turns out to have quite a bit in common with the character she plays in Haantjes. Or actually: almost everything. She even calls herself a sort of real-life version of Tess: “I feel that Tess and I have a lot in common. We are both experimental in our sexuality.” Fockeline, who plays Tess’ mother Desirée, starts talking about the hysterical traits that she and her character share, but quickly swaps that for what she believes is really important: the love for her family. And just that family is in a completely different place at the end of the season. Ivo and Desirée have found each other again, but in the meantime, the men are no longer the same men as before. After all, you don’t get that certificate of personal growth without showing up for the course. According to both couples, season two also dives much deeper into that new (family) dynamic: “In fact, a new man stands in front of you. And does that work?”

The Amayzine Guess What cards have been put away again, the cast has gone home and we? We are doing exactly what you are about to do: feet up, snacks on the side, and completely disappearing into the chaos that the Haantjes are guaranteed to cause again. Because Merel and Greg trying to navigate an open relationship? We simply cannot miss that, even if we wanted to. And neither can the rest of season two.