According to Maarten, his remarks have been ‘unfortunately taken out of context’. “Criticism was absolutely not my intention,” said the De Slimste Mens jury member. “Jinek can have as many children at all conceivable times as she wishes. I was concerned about the age difference and the fact that at five years old it was said: ‘Well, that doesn’t really matter that much’. I didn’t think that was right.”
He explains: “If children are five years apart, then the oldest child is in sixth grade of secondary school and the youngest child is just starting. Those are completely different worlds. So yes, that’s what my comment was about.” Maarten speaks from his own experience with his younger brother. “We are seven years apart. Before, when he was eleven and I was eighteen… I was already courting, going to college, and he was still a boy. That’s what my comment was about. Nothing was less the case than my desire to hurt or to criticize.” And: “Jinek can have as many children at all conceivable times as she wishes.”
Podcast presenter Tom Jessen points Maarten to the possibility that Eva may have been trying to have a second child for years after the birth of son Pax. “Yes, I admit: I had not thought about that at all at the time. Because, again: my comment had a completely different intention,” Maarten responds.
Eva indicates in previous interviews that she finds it difficult to talk about having children:
