Wendy Kop from Almere participated in the second season of Married at First Sight. In this TV program she was paired with a man whom she saw and spoke to for the first time when she married him. Although it ultimately turned out not to be a match, she did learn a lot about herself. “I stand up for myself more.”
Wendy says she really wanted to participate. “I had been single for about five years, never married and had no luck finding anyone. So I wanted to let science do its work for once.” She has had several test days and discussions with experts. A profile was then created and it was checked whether there was anyone among the men who could be linked to her.
She explains that she found it scary to participate. “You really look forward to the moment you walk into the wedding hall and think about what the match will look like.” Ultimately there was Jeroen, who had been linked to the Almeerse by experts.
‘Not my type’
Wendy remembers exactly what was going on in her head the moment she saw Jeroen. “It was quite disappointing at first. I thought he looked a little older and I love hair, but he was bald. So it wasn’t really my type in terms of appearance.”
Still, she wanted to give him a chance. “I wanted to get to know him, I was open to that. I really had the intention of: ‘This is it and this is him’, because my expectation was that my husband would be standing there.”
Three days before the three-week experiment ended, Wendy and Jeroen left the program. “We immediately chose to leave at the first possible moment. Ultimately, it was his inner self that made the decision to stop.”
Negative reactions
People on television were able to experience Wendy and Jeroen’s entire adventure. All those people had an opinion about them. “People are really mean online. I don’t read everything, but I did see, for example, that people felt very sorry for Jeroen and that I had not given him a chance.”
According to her, that was a very quick decision. “Look, you don’t see everything as a viewer. There are 24 hours in a day and a lot happens in them. The cameramen only come for a few hours and they get a few minutes out of that that are broadcast on television.” She continues: “My match wasn’t the sweetheart he seemed either.”
Due to all those online reactions, the woman from Almere had a period when she did not dare to go outside. “I regularly read ‘Bitch’ and ‘Kutwijf’ online, so I was afraid that they would also say that on the street. Fortunately that was not the case at all. The people I spoke to were only positive.”
No regrets
Wendy has no regrets about participating in the program. “Getting married was really a girl’s dream for me. I was allowed to choose the make-up and dress myself. That was amazing. Although I wouldn’t do the experiment again if I knew the same man would be there, I still enjoyed it. I made new friends and experienced everything positively.”
She also learned a lot about herself. “I have learned to stand up for myself. I didn’t do that before. I always did what others told me to do. An expert on the program said to me: ‘No is also an answer. If you don’t feel well, please let us know.’
Now Wendy is single again, but it doesn’t have to stay that way for long. “A small scoop; I’m dating!” Whether that ultimately is the perfect match remains to be seen.
This story was created by Engeline Keizer. For 1Almere she focuses on stories from Almere. 1Almere and Omroep Flevoland have a partnership.
2023-11-13 07:36:54
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