“Now understand better why my father does what he does”: actress Evelien Bosmans delves into family history for podcast ‘Geisha’

“My grandfather was an enigma (a riddle, ed.) ,” says Bosmans. “He never bothered to connect with us.”

“He was first and foremost a businessman, a pioneer. He was one of the first Europeans to move to Chinese provinces such as Hainan,” Bosmans remembers. “He flew around the world first class and stayed in the most expensive hotels.”

To investigate who exactly he was, the sisters sought out relatives they had not seen for almost 18 years. “Even though my grandfather’s death was almost 20 years ago, everything is still super sensitive. I might not have thought that.”

The Bosmans family often held large family parties. There Grandpa Bosmans sat next to his wife and next to his secretary. “We didn’t ask any questions about it at the time, there were so many people there.” When he died in Gran Canaria, there was no trace of the secretary or that promised inheritance. Does the secretary have anything to do with this? “We were able to speak to her,” Bosmans reveals. “It was a warm telephone conversation.”

“After my grandfather’s death in 2006, the family celebrations stopped. Our goal and hope is to get the family together again one day.”