Linda de Mol hopes “the book can now be closed” after the court’s decision not to prosecute her partner Jeroen Rietbergen for rape. The presenter tells De Telegraaf that the case has “harmed” all those involved.
“I have supported Jeroen in this case, and I did so based on facts from the file and things I knew directly were not correct,” says De Mol, 61. “There is a very big difference between transgressive behavior and a sexual offense. If you admit the former and openly apologize for it, that does not mean that you will have done the latter. If I had believed that, our relationship certainly would not have had a new chance.”
Singer and former contestant of The Voice of Holland, Nienke Wijnhoven, accuses Rietbergen of rape. She had started an article 12 procedure to force prosecution after the Public Prosecution Service decided in May 2024 not to prosecute Rietbergen in the case. On Friday morning, the court in Arnhem decided that the former bandleader of the TV program will not be prosecuted for rape.
Rietbergen, 54, had previously admitted that he had relationships of a “sexual nature” with women involved in The Voice of Holland. He called his behavior “unacceptable” at the time, but there was no question of coercion or a sexual offense, according to him.
After his public confession, De Mol broke off her relationship with Rietbergen. The two have been together again for some time now. “If you go through such a deep valley and find each other again, it is a 2.0 relationship,” De Mol said earlier this year. “A number of things have changed. We have had a hard time, but we are doing well.”