Jan Hofer: Moderator loves his new life on Mallorca

Jan Hofer (74) can no longer stop raving about his new home, Mallorca. “I love the lifestyle here. Everything is brighter, lighter, more relaxed than in Germany,” he told the magazine “Bunte” in an interview. He now lives in Palma all year round with his wife Phong Lan (46) and their nine-year-old son Henry. The former news anchor has owned an apartment on the island for 35 years.

His wife has now given up her job at a publishing house in Hamburg and now works as her husband’s social media manager all year round in Mallorca. “My wife now loves life on Mallorca at least as much as I do. She doesn’t want to leave here and Henry is super happy too,” Hofer continued.

Jan Hofer, who moderated the “Tagesschau” for decades until 2020, wants to make the most of his time with his baby. The decision to emigrate is therefore also a decision for his son. Like his older children, his youngest should also receive a good education without financial restrictions. “Since I may no longer be able to do this for that long, I wanted to give him an international education while he was still at school. Nobody knows how much time you are given here,” says Hofer. Because he wasn’t as “present” during the childhood of his older children from his first marriage, he wanted to “accompany Henry more intensively.”

“Our son goes to a great school here and now speaks Spanish and English fluently because the lessons there are bilingual.” His parents are also learning the language diligently in courses. “We didn’t want to live in a German bubble on Mallorca, we wanted to really integrate,” emphasized Phong Lan Hofer.

Despite his new focus in life, Jan Hofer doesn’t want to break up camp in his home country completely and “will continue to fly to Germany for individual projects.” “A certain presence in Germany is important if you want to continue working in the media,” he emphasized. He couldn’t do anything with the word retirement anyway. “I’m still not retired, I think that’s a terrible word.” The 74-year-old wants to stay active for as long as possible and “continue to participate in life.”

Jan Hofer moderated the “Tagesschau” from 1985 to 2020, and in 2004 he became the news program’s chief spokesman. He then presented “RTL Direkt” for three years. Hofer has been in a relationship with his wife since 2014 and they married four years later. He has three adult children from his first marriage to the pop singer Anne-Karin (76).