Marlene Lufen: Open words about her failed marriage

Five years after separating from “Sportschau” presenter Claus Lufen (57), Marlene Lufen (53) looks back on the end of her marriage. “The first two years were not easy,” she says in an interview with the magazine “Gala”. But thanks to friends and family, she overcame this difficult time.

“I could lean on someone or just cry”

“Of course, the phase before the separation was also difficult, because at some point you realise that life is taking a turn.” The TV couple married in 1997 and had two children. In 2019 they separated, which Marlene Lufen announced publicly a year later. Now the “Sat.1 Breakfast Television” presenter looks back on this private challenge: “All of this happened at the same time that my children were growing up and didn’t need me as much anymore.” Many conversations with friends and the support of her family helped her. “My sister came to us the next day and cooked us something to eat. I could lean on her or just cry.”

With her two children, Fritz (23) and Frida (19), however, it was not so easy for her: “I tried to be as strong as possible for my children. I did not want to become a burden in their lives,” she told “Gala”. She wanted to give them the feeling that “their mother is coping”. The children and her work also “distracted her very well and gave me love and warmth”.

Her mantra is: Move on

The turning point came from a conversation with a friend who told her that she could either go over everything over and over again or put a “hook” on it and shape her future. “That was a turning point for me. We control our lives with the quality of our thoughts.” You can’t hold on to anything forever. She then bought a plane ticket to San Francisco and visited old friends there. “They also said: ‘Marlene, move on!’ And that became my mantra.” She even wears a bracelet with the motivational saying that means something like: just keep going.

And it seems to be working out well. She even gets on well with her ex-husband. “Our relationship is good, we’ve all managed it really well,” is Lufen’s positive conclusion. She didn’t want to reveal whether she’s already found a new love. “I might talk about that very soon.” But dating apps aren’t for her. “I trusted that the right thing would happen.”

Since conversations and advice from others have helped her so much, she wants to show with her new podcast “M like Marlene”: “It’s nice to have someone to talk to.” In the podcast she wants to speak openly about love, money and health.