In the YouTube series Open the card Robert Rodenberg’s guest this week is Leontine Reuter, ex-wife of Marco Borsato. In an open conversation, she talks about, among other things, how her mother’s mental illness held her back until recently.

In the series, host Robert Rodenberg and the celebrity guest take turns asking each other a question written on a card. How do you look back on your youth, what was the best and what was the most difficult? is one of the questions that Robert asks the presenter. “I actually had a very nice childhood,” she began. “I was raised in a very protective way by my mother. I think that held me back in some areas.

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Leontine’s mother, who died in 2017, suffered from bipolar disorder. “That was a very difficult period,” she says. “When I was very young, I didn’t really notice it. But of course it was always there, and I didn’t know any better. Because of her illness, and without knowing it, I started to adjust myself a lot, so as not to complain, and above all “I don’t have to be difficult.” Leontine grew up in a family of five, and subconsciously presented herself as “the easy kid.” “It wasn’t until I was 40 that I realized it really bothered me.” I also went to therapy for it.

When Lewontin was 18, her mother experienced psychosis for the first time and was admitted to a clinic for the first time. “It did come back, but it was never the same again. She was on medication, which made you feel really flat. Then she stopped doing it again and ended up going psychotic again. It just kept going like this the whole time.” Reuter later tried to talk about it with her mother. “Of course I started talking about it sometimes when she was in the isolation cell, tied up, because she was aggressive during her psychosis. But she didn’t know about that anymore, so it didn’t make sense. But of course I was very moved by seeing your mother like that. And that’s very intense.” “

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The events in her youth expressed themselves in different ways: “Not knowing what you want, not being able to set boundaries, and adapt behavior. And also constantly wanting to help others. But you can only do that if you take good care of yourself, and that’s where I went wrong. I didn’t take care.” I took good care of myself internally. She took care of others who were struggling. In addition to the impact on her mental health, the actress also eventually suffered from physical complaints. “Because of the stress and because I did not listen to myself properly, my esophagus, eczema and vocal cords did not close .

the A wake-up call Where Leontine decides to seek help is in family matters. “I had overstepped my bounds so much that I thought: I have to ask for help. I had to give up my constant desire to save everyone.