‘For the first time I am really afraid of dying, because then I can no longer be there for my children’
Douwe Bob became the father of three children in a short time. The son he had with his fiancée Anouk recently blew out two candles. In the latest Glamial, the singer tells how he experiences fatherhood.
Children
The greatest love in his life? Those are his children. And Anouk. “For a long time I thought that nothing would ever be more important than music. That was always number one for me. Actually, that was a disguised way of saying that I was number one. That is no longer the case. All the clichés about having children are true, haha. For the first time, I am also really afraid of dying, because I will no longer be able to be there for my children. That responsibility is sometimes difficult for me.”
Monogamy
“Am I monogamous? I think that’s a dirty question,” said Douwe. “Because it implies that it is not good if you are not monogamous. There is a cultural judgment imposed by how we think as a society and from the church. The question should be: do you believe in monogamy? Then my answer is: yes. I believe in love and am currently monogamous. But I also know couples who love each other just as much and choose not to be monogamous.”
Stoicism
His celebrity crush used to be Georgina Verbaan. But now he especially admires people with a completely different background. “Now I don’t really admire anyone in the business. I do admire people, but they are old philosophers. Marcus Aurelius, for example, a stoic. In recent years I have learned a lot from Stoicism. That’s a bit like Western Buddhism. Take everything with a grain of salt, don’t take yourself too seriously, understand that life is a cosmic billiards and that you yourself are not that important. The art of letting go, that is stoicism for me.”
This article is an excerpt from an extensive interview with Douwe Bob from the latest Glamial. In stores from today!
Interview: Fleur Baxmeier | Photos: Feriet Tunc | Make-up: Shiona Franke | Styling: Pascalle Swinkels
