Umut Kekilli and Ina Schnitzer
The past few months have been difficult for her
Umut Kekilli and Ina Schnitzer at an event in 2019.
© imago/Future Image
Umut Kekilli and Ina Schnitzer have had a difficult time, she calls it the “worst time” of her life. It started with tinnitus.
Ex-professional soccer player Umut Kekilli (39) and his fiancé Ina Schnitzer (40), who became known as the fitness influencer Yoga Jordan, have had a difficult time. Anyone who follows them on Instagram could already guess. First it became quiet around him, then the bad news of the miscarriage and recently he announced that he wanted to talk about the events soon.
Now the time has come: In an interview with “Bild.de”, the parents of daughter Kaya (3) and son Marcello (6), whom Schnitzer brought into the relationship, talk about a day in March when everything changed.
tinnitus and panic attacks
It started with tinnitus: “All of a sudden I had noise and whistling in my ears,” says Kekilli. That completely blew him away, he couldn’t think of anything else. He consulted various doctors. “They prescribed me pills and said it would go away,” he recalls.
But it wasn’t like that. “The tinnitus took control of me and I was afraid that it wouldn’t go away. I was able to sleep for a maximum of one to two hours. Then the panic attacks came along,” he reports.
miscarriage and depression
When Kekilli and Schnitzer lose the baby they were 16 weeks pregnant with, he completely withdraws from the family. “There was nothing I could do. I holed up with my parents for three and a half months because everything at home was too much for me. I was alone in the woods for hours and couldn’t go to work,” recalls the gastro entrepreneur, who lived in Cologne for four operates restaurants.
For Schnitzer, that meant she was alone with her two children and grieving for Ellah. “It was the worst time in my life, I cried every day,” she says. Of course, she was also concerned about Kekilli’s illness: “In the beginning I was overwhelmed myself and didn’t know how to deal with my illness.”
He describes how bad it actually was: “I didn’t want to continue the way it was.” He cites stress and pressure as the main triggers for the situation. “We’ve invested a lot of money in the restaurants, so there’s pressure to make sure everything works,” says Kekilli.
Help with depression and suicidal thoughts is available from the telephone counseling service on the free number: 0800/111 0 111
“I […] can enjoy a cup of coffee again”
In the meantime it seems that Umut Kekilli and Ina Schnitzer have survived the worst. “I don’t work as much anymore, I’ve learned to say no and I can enjoy a cup of coffee again. That wasn’t possible before,” he says. And she adds: “I hope the worst is over.”
Together they work towards a more relaxed future. Soon there will also be a move from downtown Cologne to the surrounding area, which Schnitzer will share with her followers on her “Joca” account.
Umut Kekilli and Ina Schnitzer have been a couple since August 2019.