In an interview, Giulia Siegel and Ludwig Heer reveal why flirting is not cheating for them and how they manage their long-distance relationship.
Four celebrity couples will go to the "Island of Temptation" from Thursday (October 15): In ten episodes of "Temptation Island VIP" (via TVNow, episodes one and two also on Sundays on RTL), twelve women and twelve men will go with four celebrities of the opposite sex each for two weeks in two luxurious villas. The singles will try to seduce the celebrities.
Candidate couple Giulia Siegel (45) and partner Ludwig Heer (39) are calm about the experiment. "If a show like this would break a couple apart, then you are not meant to last forever," Heer explains in a double interview with the news agency spot on news. "That is the minimum hurdle you have to take."
"Jealousy wouldn't work in our relationship"
No-gos, which the other should consider during the broadcast, were discussed by the couple beforehand. For example, flirting is in no way cheating, says Giulia Siegel. "Otherwise life would be boring. Flirting starts when I just have a nice chat over dinner or smile at someone." Ludwig Heer agrees: "You can get an appetite anywhere as long as it is finished at home."
They are used to having to spend 14 days apart from each other, says Heer. "The bigger problem is that we can't talk. We usually talk on the phone ten times a day." The couple, who have been in a relationship since 2016, have good prerequisites for the format: "Jealousy would not work in our relationship," emphasizes Giulia Siegel. She is on the road almost every weekend for her job as a DJ, without trust that would not work. The couple also have a long-distance relationship: Giulia Siegel lives with her children in Munich, her partner Ludwig Heer is a cook and runs the family business in Kuchen near Göppingen. On average they spend two days a week together.
That's what they appreciate about their relationship
"Our separate lives were never up for debate, we have our freedoms, which we also need, and we enjoy the intimacy when we finally see each other," says Heer. In addition, their relationship means that they can laugh a lot together, argue little or have discussions and are self-sufficient, adds Siegel. "With a long-distance relationship, you naturally plan your free time together and less with friends."
The corona crisis has strengthened the couple's relationship again. Heer as a restaurateur and Siegel as a DJ have to lose a lot of income. "That doesn't completely pass you by mentally," says Heer. "That is why it was important to be there for one another and to support one another. Such TV formats naturally also help us financially." He also looks back positively on the time in the "summer house of the stars", the couple took part in the RTL show in 2017. "I have no regrets, all experiences have made us the couple we are today."
The two would not say no to other TV formats. But she wouldn't go to the jungle again, says Giulia Siegel. For Ludwig Heer this is not an option either: "Because of my career, I couldn't eat the things on offer there. And gossiping is absolutely not my strength."