André van Duin (75) has had very difficult times. He lost his husband Martin to the effects of cancer, and then became stricken with this disease himself. But now the sun is shining again for André, and he is shining alongside the fourteen-year-younger Fernando Reyes, with whom he had been good friends for years. The dancer has moved from Spain to the Netherlands especially for André and the two already live together.
Career given up
Now Fernando is walking around the house where André was happy with Martin for so many years. Doesn’t that sometimes feel a bit strange? ‘No, it’s been two and a half years since Martin died. And he wanted me to have a partner again. He knew me like no other and knew I’m not one to be alone.’ And how is that for Fernando? ‘I lived in Spain for 38 years. I was of course aware of André’s life, but that was at a distance. Then you experience it differently,’ says Fernando, who also gave up his career as a professional dancer for love. “That’s partly true, but I’m also 61 now. It also has to be finished at some point, because you can’t keep dancing on a physical level forever.”
Image: Peter Smulders
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