Hanka Rackwitz (57) has been back behind a bar since mid-June, that much was known. But someone else is calling the shots at the "Dorfkrug" in Freist, Saxony-Anhalt: The restaurant is run by her former partner Pierre Paminski (55). "Pierre is the manager, I'm employed as a cook", says the former TV realtor and reality TV personality in an interview with "Bild". However, Rackwitz doesn't want to be limited to this role. "But I can be so much more: the real estate woman, the storyteller... I'm so happy that we took this step", she adds.
The two met in 2005, became a couple and stayed together for ten years before separating again. But they never lost touch.
Team yes, couple no
Above the dining room of the "Dorfkrug" is the apartment where the two now live together. But anyone who interprets this as a romantic comeback gets a clear answer from Paminski. "No, we are together as a team, not as a couple", he tells the newspaper. "Everyone has their own bedroom and their own bathroom."
Rackwitz puts it more cautiously. "I wouldn't rule out that it might go in some direction again, because I still think he's great", she explains.
Why the relationship failed back then
Why their love didn't last, Rackwitz explains much more clearly. "Our love couldn't withstand everyday life. That's where we failed", she says. Her compulsions, which she has been talking about publicly for years, made living together difficult. For over 30 years, washing compulsions and fears dominated her life; in 2017 she spoke about it publicly for the first time.
"If I still had the compulsions, none of what I'm doing here would be possible", Rackwitz said on the occasion of the reopening in June 2026 to broadcaster "RTL".
From water castle to inn
Until recently, Rackwitz lived in seclusion at St. Ulrich water castle in Mücheln. "I hid from the world here", she told "RTL" in spring while packing boxes. She needed a new task. She found it in Freist, a village with around 300 residents, where the "Dorfkrug" has stood for well over a hundred years. The dining room, hall, bowling alley and beer garden offer plenty of space; the reopening was in mid-June, with nearly 40 guests waiting at the door at lunchtime.
Rackwitz became known in 2000 through the second season of "Big Brother", later she was seen as a realtor on "mieten, kaufen, wohnen" and took second place in 2017 on "Ich bin ein Star - Holt mich hier raus!". In 2025 she moved into the "Sommerhaus der Stars" with Paminski; after three days it was over for the two of them there.
What connects the two today, Rackwitz sums up in her new interview like this: "Pierre and I are somehow one person." And further: "We have a level there that is very precious to us. And now we have found each other again. We will make the best of it."
