“Tagesthemen” star Jessy Wellmer had to cope with the early death of her brother as a child. He died at just 15 years old.
In 1989, “Tagesthemen” presenter Jessy Wellmer (44) had to cope with the early death of her brother, who died of cancer at the age of 15. The 44-year-old, who grew up in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, told the magazine “Bunte”: “His death overshadowed the fall of the Wall in our family. You can imagine that the family’s suffering outweighed the joy of the new freedom.”
Wellmer explained about her brother: “He had a tumor in his hip. Stefan received the best treatment at the Charité and the Rostock University Hospital, but the doctors couldn’t save him. He was six years older than me, and I couldn’t even grasp the loss at the time.” The grief didn’t “fully hit” her until she was 17 or 18, says Wellmer. The fact that her parents had to say goodbye to a child still concerns her today. “Even more so since I’m a mother of two children myself.”
Her parents, who were both teachers, had done “the only right thing” back then, Jessy Wellmer continued in “Bunte”: “They gave us shared experiences and bought a caravan and showed us the world: the Titisee in the Black Forest, the Cologne Cathedral, the North Sea, the East Frisian Islands, the carnival in Düsseldorf.” They had made many friends. Wellmer added: “That’s why I think it’s such a shame that a fifth of Germans from the old Federal Republic have never been to the East. Encounters bring us closer, make us wonder and eliminate stupid clichés.”
Jessy Wellmer has been the presenter of “Tagesthemen” since October
In October 2023, Jessy Wellmer succeeded long-time “Tagesthemen” presenter Caren Miosga (55), who took over the political talk show from Anne Will (58) on Sunday evenings on Das Erste. Wellmer has been working for public broadcasting since the 2000s. She initially worked at rbb, and from 2009 to 2014 she presented sports coverage on the “ZDF Morning Magazine”. From 2014 to September 2023, the 44-year-old presented the “Sportschau am Sonntag” and other sports formats. In February, she published the book “The New Alienation: Why East and West Germany are drifting apart and what we can do about it”.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
