When new family constellations arise after a separation, this is a difficult challenge for many of those involved. But patchwork can also be successful – many celebrities demonstrate this. But a good relationship does not come by itself. There is often hard work behind it.
In an interview with “Gala”, the presenter is currently enthusiastic about the new partner of her ex-husband Rafael van der Vaart (40): “Estavana is a super great woman. Beautiful. Talented, with a great career.” She even emphasizes: “We are really good friends.” It is mainly thanks to Estavana Polman (30) that everyone gets along so well. After the separation in 2013, Sylvie Meis and Rafael van der Vaart had a tense relationship for a long time. In the meantime, they even celebrate Christmas together again, as the presenter proudly showed on her Instagram page. “The big winner is Damian,” says Sylvie, happy about the perfect patchwork happiness. The 16-year-old has been living with his father Rafael in Denmark for three years, and Sylvie Meis comes to visit every month.
Vacation with the current wife, the ex and the five children? This constellation is unthinkable for many. The comedian was already enjoying the holidays with Amira Pocher (30) and her predecessor, Alessandra Meyer-Wölden (40). This works mainly because Amira Pocher mediated between the separated ex-partners. In the “Mama Locker” podcast, the moderator revealed that patchwork harmony was a long way off: “I really grew fond of Sandy. We didn’t have an easy start, so I’m all the more proud that we now have this relationship.” In March, the trio celebrated Alessandra Meyer-Wölden’s birthday together in Paris. She commented on a joint picture on Amira Pocher’s Instagram profile with the word “family”. Meyer-Wölden also thinks: “The children are the big winners.”
The actor has been living the patchwork model for 20 years and summed up in the “Bunte” interview in March: “It was wonderful. But I can’t crown myself, that was the merit of the two great women, who said they were just very grown up have: ‘No stupid bitch war, it’s not about us, it’s about the children!'” In 2003 he had three children from two women: ex-partner Nina Kronjäger (56) gave birth to twins, his new partner Jackie Brown (51) a son. The difficult situation succeeded because everyone pulled together. “That’s the key.” The families lived close to each other so that the children could grow up together. This also included vacations together. “Even as a perfectionist, I really don’t know what could have been done better. I had a great time with Nina and now I’m incredibly happy with Jackie.”
The “Lion’s Den” investor brought two sons into the relationship, the actress brought her daughter Lilly Krug (21). The beginning as a patchwork family was difficult, mainly because of the children, as the couple revealed. “Our children were against each new partner. For the first four years, my two sons Veronica didn’t accept me and Lilly didn’t,” said Maschmeyer. Ferres remembers: “It was often painful. They just needed time.” The new constellation grew only gradually. After a few years, Veronica Ferres was happy: “Today it’s beautiful. We love all three equally. And the boys love their sister – they even comfort each other when they’re heartbroken.”
The actor has five of his own, two stepchildren and four wives in his family. A structure that, according to him, works very well. “I was lucky with my wives. For us, family is the most important thing. That’s why we manage it, celebrate Christmas together and organize family celebrations together. (…) We never had to fight a war,” he revealed in the podcast “Women Hit Harder” is his patchwork secret. This also includes the fact that he does things differently than his parents: “I didn’t have such a good family home. No parade parents. It was hard times. I focus on the children. I’m first and foremost a father and an actor by the way.”
Even Hollywood stars can do patchwork harmony. The prime example is the action hero who has five daughters by two wives. Not only do the kids spend a lot of time together, but his wife Emma Heming-Willis, 44, and ex-wife Demi Moore, 60, have no problem seeing each other at many family activities. Demi Moore often posts pictures of the hours together on her Instagram page.
The singer has twins from her marriage to Marc Anthony (54), the actor has three children with Jennifer Garner (50). There is certainly a lot to organize and discuss. “We have mixed families, twice as many people, twice as much fun, twice as much love, twice as many gifts and three times as much chaos,” Jennifer Lopez described the patchwork life on her official website “onthejlo.com”. Apparently it works because the children get along well. Above all, her daughter Emme (15) and his daughter Seraphina (14) are best friends. The singer and her predecessor Jennifer Garner are also getting closer to each other, although the relationship has long been considered difficult: they attended a performance of Serahpina together in January, as “Page Six” reported.