When the Meilandjes got into a fight with their manager Valérie Lempereur, thewoman who definitely put the striking family on the map, they suddenlycharacterized her as unreliable. Valérie, who will be publishing anautobiography this week, announces her sweet revenge in Story…
‘ What Martien owes to me’
aAs a former manager of the Meiland family, Valérie Lempereur, who at the timewas working as a disclosure journalist in the international media world underthe pseudonym Maxime Verlaar, was mentioned in Martien’s biography. Martien –from mayor ‘s son to lord of the castle mentioned and on balance not in apositive sense. When they met, Valérie was still acclaimed. With her businessacumen, she ensured that the Meilandjes got an extremely lucrative TVcontract, which made them a millionaire. She also devised the extraexaggerated way in which Martien wears his flamboyant shawls, in order to gether own signature. Nevertheless, the Meilandjes immediately broke with Valérieat some point, after their producer made her illustrious past the subject ofconversation. In her journalistic career – in which she worked for, amongothers, the crime program of the late Peter R. de Vries, New Revu, Story andthe German media worked – she was feared for the bold way she got her news;she went undercover in various guises when necessary to get her cover storiescompleted. Not everyone in journalism was charmed by this and it earned herquite a few enemies. Her sometimes compelling personality instilled fear inmany. However, her firsts were always sensational. Although Valérie deMeilandjes brought the necessary fame and prosperity, they suddenly wantednothing more to do with her. In her autobiography, published in theNetherlands and Belgium last week Madam let Valérie, who was born as a boy,had a terrible childhood and worked her way up to a journalistic phenomenonafter only a few years of primary school, finally get to know herself a littlebetter.
Should Erica and Martien Meiland fear the second part of Valérie Lempereur’s autobiography?
‘ Thundered aside’
As Martien admits in his book, Chateau Meiland without Valérie’s input, itmay never have gotten off the ground. Valérie now tells Story about this:’They had been working on it for years, but it didn’t work out. Then I helpedthem on their way. Without me they would never have been able to approach Johnde Mol directly. I even did their contract negotiations at the time. I barelygot anything from it myself. At the time I did indeed advise Martien to wearhis characteristic shawls as a kind of recognition, as he also tells in hisbook. It would have been more chic if he had been a little more frugal withme, when you see what he and his family owe to me afterwards. They threw measide on the intercession of Vincent ter Voert, of Vincent TV Productions. Hefelt threatened because I understood him well. I know that TV world – theMeilandjes didn’t back then. Vincent TV wanted the Meilandjes to show up foran apple and an egg in the reality show. I got that. Some things happenedthen… I expected the Meilandjes to be honest enough to write that down intheir book. They didn’t. I’m going to tell my side of the story. I don’t thinkthe Meilandjes are always honest.’ That will happen in the second part of herautobiography, which will be published exactly one year from now.
Truth
In the revealing and at times disconcerting book Madam Valérie describes howshe was born in a Zeeland family of seven children and grew up as Daniel, butdiscovered at a young age that she was in the wrong body – he wanted to be agirl. When she finally had sex surgery to become Valérie, which she candidlydetails in the book, and after a life of abuse and lovelessness in children’shomes, went astray and became a drug addict, life lifted her up again aftershe found her job as writer and journalist. The late Theo van Gogh, with whomthe also rebellious Valérie maintained a close friendship, helped her find ajob at New Revue. That’s where the ball started rolling. She then grew intoa feared reporter in both the Netherlands and Flanders, who also became awelcome and welcome guest in society circles, even up to royalty. Her side ofthe story about the Meiland history will only be discussed next year. Valérietells Story: ‘I have a contract for three books with publisher Lebowski, partof Overamstel, which also publishes fellow writers such as Susan Smit, ThomasAcda, Claudia de Breij and Hugo Borst. My second book is called A matter oftime , and in it I will tell you something about the Meilandjes. They don’treally have to worry or they have to run away from the truth. But if that’swhat you’re afraid of…’