While he published his autobiography, entitled Without transition published by Flammarion, Christophe Dechavanne accepted the invitation from Frédéric Lopez In A Sunday in the countryside. The opportunity for the TV host and sidekick of Léa Salamé in the show What a time, to evoke an important part of his life: his fatherhood. Dad of Pauline born in 1987, Paul-Henri born in 1990 and Ninon born in 1998, he claims to have done his best to educate his childrendespite the breakups with their mothers. “I was a good father, I think. I made do with what I was given, as I separated from each mother, but I probably screwed up, yes. I neglected the big one a little because I took a lot of care of the little one.”he admitted.
Very touched, Christophe Dechavanne crushed a few tears in a paper towel. He then mentioned the case of his son, Paul-Henri. The latter cut ties with his father, but also his sisters. “For my son, it’s more complicated. It’s very difficult to talk about it. I can’t say that I don’t have three children because I have three, whom I love just as much, but there is one I was forced to mourn. He is not dead. He is alive, but he is no longer here. Neither for me, nor for his sisters, which is very hard to live with and very unexpected”.
An open door
This story, difficult for the host to tell, is an opportunity for him to reveal how much he wants to reconnect with his son. At 65 years old, Christophe Dechavanne has not seen his son for more than 10 years. “I saw him for five minutes in 2015 at my daughter’s wedding and otherwise I never saw him again”, he noted. Léa Salamé’s sidekick thus opens a door to her dear son: “If he wants to come back, he’s going to have to eat his ass a little because it’s going to be too late afterwards. But he has all my hatred and my love”. Revelations rich in emotion which greatly moved Frédéric Lopez, the host ofA Sunday in the countrysidebut also Stéphane de Groodt and the author Aurélie Valognes.