Lars Steinhöfel: “Not every ring is a promise”

Lars Steinhöfel (39) celebrates its 20th anniversary as an actor at the RTL-Daily “Unter Uns” on May 23, 2025 (Monday to Friday at 5:30 p.m., too). In an interview with the Spot on News news agency, he says in an interview with his role of Easy Winter and how he sees his future in the series.

Steinhöfel also talks about his private happiness. After the end of the relationship with his ex-partner Dominik Schmitt, the “Unter Uns” star found his luck with a new man at his side: Influencer Lukas Küchen (24). The actor reveals how the two stand together, what plans they are forging and how he thinks about his ex-engagement today.

Lars Steinhöfel: To be honest, it feels surreal. 20 years – that’s almost half a life. It is an enormous period in which I have grown not only as an actor, but also as a person. It makes me proud to be part of a format that has existed so many years and has accompanied so many people.

Steinhöfel: Such an anniversary is something special – and I think you can celebrate that too. A cozy evening with friends and family is planned, simply in a small circle. And then there is also a trip to Mallorca-together with my girlfriend and reality TV colleague Sandra Sicora. This is my very own way to celebrate the whole thing with a wink. But what is particularly important to me: I am incredibly grateful – for 20 years at “Unter us”, for a team that has become like a second family, and for the fans who have been there over the years. Without this consistency and support, none of this would have been possible. And I am really grateful for that.

Steinhöfel: Back then I was full of energy and also a bit naive. When the promise came exactly on my 19th birthday, it was a huge step for me – my first long -term TV job. I remember the first day of shooting and the excitement, but also the great openness with which I was recorded in the team.

Steinhöfel: Easy is a character that was allowed to develop for 20 years – and this is not a matter of course in a series format. I appreciate his warmth, his loyalty, but also his corners and edges. Of course there are phases in which you want change as an actor, but it is precisely these changes between ups and downs make it credible and exciting.

Steinhöfel: On the one hand, it is a huge appreciation when a character is so much connected to you. On the other hand, of course I also have facets that are beyond easy. But I see it as an opportunity – it is also up to me to show new sides.

Steinhöfel: It has definitely become deeper. I was able to bring emotions and inner conflicts that I experienced myself. This has created a new, personal connection to Easy. And I think the spectators feel that too.

Steinhöfel: Overwhelming positive. Many thanks that they are finally seen – especially in the series context, which is often dominated by heteronormative stories. Such feedback shows how important representation is. Many people also wrote to me that through my private and Easys Outing that was discussed in their own family and thereby also found strength for my fans’ own outing in their families.

Steinhöfel: I don’t regret participation – I just regret that I have trusted someone who has confused love with image. Shortly after the shoot, I learned that my partner at the time had already cheated on me before the show. In order to maintain the picture, he made me a marriage proposal four weeks later – purely for PR reasons, as I only learned after the separation. We plan wedding, house building, child. And then he let me sit for an affair five months before the wedding that ran long ago – with the man with whom he is engaged today. My conclusion: Not every ring is a promise – sometimes it is only part of the staging.

Steinhöfel: I am basically an open person – but I have learned to set my limits. If I share something, then because it feels right for me, not because I have to. I think this is a learning process, especially once you have experienced how vulnerable you can make yourself when privately negotiated. Today I decide much more consciously what I show – and what I just keep for myself. My environment, my relationships, also my family: these are things that I protect. But if something is beautiful, it can also be seen – as long as I have it myself.

Steinhöfel: It all quite natural. On our Bali trip we have already shown ourselves publicly in social media, and after that a lot was speculated. Instead of letting any rumors room, Lukas and I said: Come on, we just stand by having a good time together and getting to know each other intensively. We don’t want to put a big label on it. It’s just good as it is. Whenever we are together, it is uncomplicated and easy – we laugh a lot, talk open, and I have the feeling that I develop and grow positively through Lukas. When I visited him in Cyprus, he introduced me to his friends and I was warmly welcomed by everyone. That was something special for me – because I noticed how nice it is when you are a matter of course. In the past, it was not always so easy for me, even if I also met for dear people there. Lukas is someone who grounds me who is honest, polite, reliable – simply with values ​​that are important to me. I feel safe with him. What will become of it? Let’s see. At the moment the “now” counts – and that’s nice.

Steinhöfel: We are consciously coming to our things. Of course we talk about how we can spend more time together – even if we live in different countries. But we have always managed to see each other. There are already one or two trips together, to further distant countries, which we are both looking forward to. There were actually inquiries from TV productions. But so far we have left it all open – for us the private is in the foreground. After everything that was, I just became careful. I don’t want to rush anything. But I realize that it is easy with Lukas that we meet at eye level, are honest and have a good feeling for each other. And at the moment that’s exactly what I need.

Steinhöfel: “Among us” is and remains my professional home – and I would never leave the series voluntarily. I have grown with this role, I was allowed to develop, try things out, change me. Easy has become part of me, and the whole team has been like a second family for me over the years. As long as you want me there, I will stay – of course. Nevertheless, of course I also want to develop creatively. I am open to new projects – as long as you can be reconciled with “under us”. There have been some exciting inquiries lately, also in the entertainment area, and I am curious about what is still coming. But my heart still beats for the Schillerallee.