“At one time I was a scared little bird”
It is a subject that Els visibly struggles with, but she shares her story to help other women in a similar situation. “I find it difficult,” she honestly admits to Bridget.
The reality star describes her ex-husband as a man who had a huge negative influence on her. “He was incredibly narcissistic,” she says emotionally. “He really managed to drive me crazy in my head, making me doubt everything,” Els adds.
The impact on her daily life was enormous. While the world came to know Els as a cheerful and open woman, there was little left of that at the time. “At one time I was a scaredy-cat,” she explains. She no longer even dared to sit in the middle on a terrace, for fear that she would not be able to flee quickly enough. She also had to deal with panic attacks and hyperventilation.
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The situation caused painful isolation for her loved ones. “It was really a very difficult period. That at a certain point no one from my family wanted to visit me anymore, because he was there. That is painful,” says Els. She could no longer even perform her work as a flight attendant. “I couldn’t fly then either,” she remembers.
Thanks to help, she eventually ended up with a good psychiatrist. In total, Els struggled with her depression for a year and a half, while she was still married to the man who did not change.
Although she tries to blame herself partly for not leaving sooner, Bridget intervenes. “We both know once a narcissist has you, you can’t say: ‘I’m just going to put an end to it.'” says the blonde.
In 2017, Els slowly started to recover. A year later, a blow came when her husband died of a ruptured aorta, just five days after her mother’s death.
These events showed her how fragile life is. “Now I’m going to get the most out of life to make it as pleasant as possible,” she concludes firmly.
Els was an absolute audience favorite B&B Full of Love. Thanks to her popularity, she received many commercial assignments. You can see more about that in the video below.
