Former Dutch entrants Marcha and Sandra Reemer had a successful five years together with Sjoukje Smit (Maggie MacNeal) as the trio Dutch Divas, until things all turned sour and the trio became a duo. Now, 7 years later, Reemer talked to the Dutch press about the less than amicable split.
Between them, both Soukje Smit, Marcha (otherwise known as Marga Bult) and Sandra Reemer represented the Netherlands no fewer than 6 times, building a reputation for themselves with hits such as I see A Star, Amsterdam, Rechtop in de Wind, Colorado, The Party’s Over and Als ‘t om de Liefde Gaat. Their joint project Dutch-Divas was therefore destined for success. But as the saying goes, "two’s company, three’s a crowd", and both Smit and Bult sided with one another and a deep rift formed between them and Reemer, leading to her departure from the group in 2005. The split came as a shock to many, causing a storm of negative reactions, with the majority of the blame being heaped on Reemer. The experience singer wisely chose to keep quiet however, maintaining her integrity and avoiding a public slanging match.
The self imposed silence lasted right up until now, when Reemer chose to speak to the Dutch press about exactly why the trio became a duo. She stated in an interview with Dutch tabloid AD that "It was unbelievable, just how much rivalry, how much hate, envy and jealousy they showed towards me." Reemer chooses to speak uout now as she is uncertain as to whether her former band collagues are aware of the impact their behaviour had on her.
"I was constantly portayed in the media as the one who walked away from the group, and this led to so many hurtful comments from fans who were outraged, but who had no clue as to how things really were." Reemer finds this particularly ironic, as, according to herself, she was the one who put the group together and was the last to expect that the other two would turn on her. Reemer does however thank both Bult and Smit for what happened as it set off an unexpected chain reaction: "It probably sounds strange, but in hindsight, I’m incredibly grateful to the girls for what happened. I was emotionally confused that I had no choice but to take a look at myself and to see where all the sadness was coming from. Only then did a clear pattern begin to emerge."
But, as in any conflict, there are always two sides to every story. Marga Bult can’t imagine where all of these accusations come from, saying that she finds it every unfortunate that Reemer needs to make such statements seven years on : "Sjoukje and I are so similar, totally different in character to Sandra. During the Diva days we had families to take care of, she was on her own. Our families made us a lot more easy going, whereas Sandra would go mad at something as trivial as a dirty cup or a dressing room that was not just how she liked it."
Bult goes on to tell of how they tried everything to resolve the conflict within the group, without avail: "We spent so much money on hiring mediators tio help, but nothing changed. After all these years, we’re still working with the same people, whereas Sandra has now a completely different set of friends and colleagues." Bult dismisses Reemer’s accusations as attention seeking, claiming that "It’s such a shame that Sandra feels the need to reopen old wounds, because she has so many nice sides to her that I’d rather remember. She is obviously digruntled since her career has gone down the drain."
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