It wasn't a dramatic reunion with a grand entrance - more of a gradual rediscovery. Thomas Helmer (61) and Yasmina Filali (50) separated in August 2022 after 21 years together and 17 years of marriage. Divorce was never on the agenda. Instead, the former European soccer champion and the actress remained friends, went on vacation together with their children Sunny (16) and Sam (18) - and worked on themselves.
Now they have confirmed in an entertaining and impressively personal video on Filali's YouTube channel what has apparently been reality for some time: They are a couple. "I'm happy that we don't have to keep it secret anymore", she tells her beaming husband.
Separation Therapy Became Couples Therapy
What sounds unusual at first glance has a clear logic in their story: The couple sought professional support - initially for the separation. "Actually, we first did separation therapy. But at some point the separation therapy turned into couples therapy", Filali explains to the "Bild" newspaper. Such guidance helps to re-evaluate relationships and make decisions consciously - and is, according to Filali, also recommended for couples who aren't even in crisis.
The couple doesn't describe the time apart as failure, but as a test. "We spent four years testing whether we could live without each other. The answer was: Yes. But together it's just a lot more fun", according to Helmer and Filali.
What the Two Missed Most
In their joint clip, in which they ask and answer each other questions about the separation phase, Helmer explains: "As a team, we always functioned great. I could always count on you. I definitely missed that reliability." He also says they were always particularly strong in certain crisis situations. Among other things, both barely survived the devastating tsunami in Thailand on Christmas 2004. In 2011, they were on the US East Coast during Hurricane "Irene", and in 2016 during the coup attempt in Turkey.
Yasmina Filali missed above all her "best friend" and adds: "You are my home. And I missed my home. How you smell, how you are. You're just my best friend."
Filali and Helmer: "The Right Partner Does Exist"
In the video, both emphasize that they didn't simply get back together overnight: "We worked on it. It also has to have some substance so that it lasts the next 25 years." They add to the tabloid: "We're older, more relaxed, and we know today that the perfect partner doesn't exist. But the right one does."
They take skeptical reactions to their love comeback from their circle calmly. When Helmer once proposed, many predicted it would never last. Filali: "And in the end we even celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. We are still standing! I have great hope and I'm very happy that it's like this."
