"Dream Wedding" star - Linda without make-up: Entertainment queen turns 60
Linda de Mol turns 60. And so? Hiding one's age no longer applies to the Queen of the Dutch Entertainment Industry. The blonde talk show host seems to be saying it herself - and on the cover of her women's magazine "Linda," she presents her unfiltered face, "the one I look at every morning in the mirror when I get out of the shower."
In a self-deprecating conversation, she reveals: "My skin for a 60-year-old is helped by a little Botox and occasional and daring laser treatments (I looked like I'd been run over a gravel road for a week). It's not bad."
They call it self-promotion. But the daughter of Schlager star John de Mol (1931–2013) and sister of the same-named media entrepreneur has no problem with it. For her 59th birthday, she even posed naked on a camping chair for the "Linda" cover, intimate body parts cleverly hidden by arms and legs.
Running around naked over a campsite was wonderful, Linda recounted in her column. But as a celebrity, she unfortunately had to give that up: Everywhere people were lurking, taking pictures with their phones and denying her every centimeter of privacy.
There's certainly something to that. For not only has the born-in-Hilversum entertainer made headlines in the media city with her fantastic TV shows. Her private life also attracted more public interest than she wanted, even when she addressed it herself.
In the 1990s, she was a star in Germany with the show "Traumhochzeit," broadcast to eleven million viewers. Weddings, champagne, and cute turtle doves were all part of the show, as were Linda's sweet "Meisje" accent.
Her success in show business was accompanied by misfortune in love. In 1995, she divorced jeweler Fred Reuter after four years of marriage. Until 2007, she was in a relationship with TV director Sander Vahle, with whom she has two children. She described the painful separation 16 years later in her magazine: "I tore down crying pictures from the wall."
After Vahle came musician Jeroen Rietbergen in 2008, who is seven years younger than Linda. The relationship ended dramatically in early 2022 in one of the biggest scandals in the history of Dutch television. Rietbergen and other participants in the casting show "The Voice of Holland" were accused of sexual harassment and abuse of power.
"I've been in a terrible nightmare for a few days," Linda reported then. The investigations against Rietbergen have since been dropped - due to lack of evidence, as the prosecutor announced in May. Reports have appeared in Dutch media that "Linda and Jeroen are together again," but the talk show host has not commented on this yet.
In Germany, the love for Linda had already cooled down some time ago. In 2008, she moderated a one-time special edition of "Traumhochzeit" (previously on RTL) for ZDF with modest success. The big comeback failed. In her homeland, however, she was still regarded for many years as the most successful and best-paid entertainer and talk show host, the Dutch Oprah Winfrey.
Outrage caused Linda, among other things, with the Dutch equivalent of the US series "Desperate Housewives," the soap "Gooise Vrouwen," in which she had a leading role. Her show "Ik hou van Holland" (I love Holland) was also successful with prominent Dutch people.
For those with agitated minds, Linda caused a stir when she turned 50 and declared that wrinkles, sagging, and menopause did not fit the business of show. Aging is part of life, she had to admit to prominent neighbors and indignant viewers. Her "Linda" title images before the 59th and 60th, naked and unadorned, made it clear that she saw things the same way now.
- Linda de Mol, known as the Queen of Dutch Entertainment Industry, discussed her use of Botox and laser treatments in her women's magazine "Linda," stating that they help her 60-year-old skin look better.
- Despite her fame, Linda de Mol mentioned that her privacy was often invaded by people taking pictures and denying her space, even on a campsite.
- In the 1990s, Linda de Mol became a German television sensation with the show "Traumhochzeit," which was watched by eleven million viewers.
- Linda de Mol had a successful relationship with TV director Sander Vahle from 1995 to 2007 and has two children with him.
- After her relationship with Sander Vahle, Linda de Mol started dating musician Jeroen Rietbergen in 2008, who was seven years younger than her.
- The relationship between Linda de Mol and Jeroen Rietbergen ended in early 2022 following allegations of sexual harassment and abuse of power by Rietbergen and other participants in the casting show "The Voice of Holland."
- Linda de Mol, despite her success in show business, faced challenges in her relationships, including a painful divorce from jeweler Fred Reuter in 1995 and the end of her relationship with Jeroen Rietbergen in a prominent scandal.
