Michael Schanze remembers his Uchi
After the sudden death of his partner Uschi Köhl, Michael Schanze says he "hasn't come to terms with it yet". The cult moderator speaks for the first time about the painful loss and his life after the tragedy.
The death of his partner, just days after her 70th birthday, is deeply affecting Michael Schanze. "It's a heavy blow, I'm still not myself," the cult moderator told the magazine "Bunte". With Uschi Köhl, who died on July 29 from a brain hemorrhage, everything was perfect.
Schanze and Köhl had been an inseparable couple for about ten years, but they had known each other for much longer. Before they became a couple, Köhl had been responsible for dressing Schanze for his TV appearances for three decades.
That she had to leave him is something he still can't comprehend. "I was the one with all the illnesses, not Uschi," says Schanze, who has lived with a knee prosthesis since a skiing accident in 2003 and survived a bilateral pulmonary embolism in 2019. "Uschi was always by my side. She was the spearhead for a normal life that I longed for. Uschi was my support, my haven."
A Death Out of the Blue
In the interview, the former "1, 2 oder 3" moderator talks about Köhl's tragic death: "Uschi died from a brain hemorrhage, there's no cure for that. I found her lifeless in our winter garden. The paramedic told me Uschi had no chance. Even if I had been standing next to her, the doctor said. There were no warning signs before, her death was like a bolt from the blue."
In the days that followed, his family took care of him, his three sons and his brother Christian were always by his side. "It's touching how my family is functioning in this difficult time," says Schanze. "My whole house is full. I'm not alone. That feels so good."
Last week, he had the chance to say his final goodbye to his late partner. "I could touch her one last time," he remembers. "All the wonderful memories flashed before my eyes." A little comfort comes from the fact that he celebrated Köhl's 70th birthday with many friends in April. "Her joy of life will remain with many, and especially with me."
Despite being celebrated at Uschi Köhl's 70th birthday party just months prior, the sudden death of his celebrity partner Michael Schanze describes as "a bolt from the blue." In the aftermath, numerous celebrity couples have reached out to offer their condolences and words of support.
