In his new book, entertainer Hape Kerkeling tells of a great love “that ended so tragically”: Duncan died of AIDS.
Multi-talented Hape Kerkeling (59) shares a moving love story publicly for the first time in his new book “Give me some time – My chronicle of events” (Piper Verlag, 368 pages, 24 euros).
It all began in the Netherlands. “Amsterdam is still my destiny today,” said the comedian and author in an interview with the magazine “Bunte”. “The city has determined my life’s destiny,” he says, explaining why he was drawn there at an early age: “Since I had my first TV show at 19 and was therefore famous relatively early on, it was almost impossible for me to go out gay in Germany. In Amsterdam you didn’t have to hide.”
“The hardest time of my life”
There, in 1987, he met Duncan, a Dutchman who was his great love. Shortly afterwards, he was diagnosed as HIV-positive. Two years later, he was dead. “That was one of the hardest times of my life,” Kerkeling said in an interview with the magazine “Gala.”
“I wanted to talk about this love that ended so tragically. Today, you can’t even imagine the horror that AIDS spread back then,” he explains to “Bunte”. He was “insanely afraid” of becoming infected. But: “I was indescribably lucky that I didn’t get the virus, even though Duncan was sick and eventually died from it.”
Shortly before Duncan’s death, Kerkeling “released” him, as the magazine reports. “That was indescribably hard. I never want to be faced with such a decision again in my life,” said the entertainer. And he added: “I would say that I was not up to the task, and perhaps I still am not up to it today. It literally tore me apart.”
Dealing with the great loss
His job as a comedian probably helped him to deal with the great loss, because Kerkeling told Gala: “For me, the job was always the right one. Because: Even on days when I wasn’t feeling so well, but my contract required me to be on stage, an expectant audience with their joyful laughter ensured that I felt better in the end.” It’s not as if he exhausts himself for his audience, he also gets something back, says Kerkeling.
The Recklinghausen native does not believe that true love only comes once in a lifetime. “No, you can fall in love, have a crush and be infatuated at any age. That’s what makes life so exciting and worth living.” He has long since found a new true love in Dirk Henning. The two have been married since 2016.
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.
