Big Brother Star Kelly van der Veer Reveals Psychosis Triggered by ‘Hotelโฃ Big Brother’ Experience
Kelly van der Veer, 45, the transsexual reality television personality known for her appearance on Big Brother, has revealed she experienced a psychosis during filming of the celebrity spin-off Hotel Big Brother in 2007, โขan event she says she โ”suffered from for a really, really long time.” Van der Veer attributes the episode tooโฃ the unsettling environment and โthe presenceโค of older, unfamiliar housemates, including Gert Timmerman and viola Holt.
Currently earning income through webcam work similar to Ferry Doedens, Van der Veer has largely avoided recent television appearances, explainingโค to party magazine that her manager frequently approaches her with opportunities she consistentlyโฃ declines. “Things where I have to survive and where I can’t eat, that’s not forโ me,” she stated. She also cited medical concerns, noting, “From โขa medical pointโ of view, it is indeed simply not useful forโ my โbody in my situation. I am now 45 and have to take into account that my body works a little โคdifferently โthen others.”
The Hotel Big Brother experience proved especially โขdistressing. Van derโ Veer described being overwhelmed by the age demographic of her โfellow contestantsโฃ – “Seniors like Gert Timmerman, Bonnie St. claire and Viola Holt”โ – and feeling isolated. She specifically recalled being deeply disturbed by Timmerman’s snoring, which she described as “as if he was strangling โคsomeone, such a scary sound came out.”
“I reallyโค should never have done that,” Van der Veer said.”In reality where things can go wrong, you haveโข to beโฃ properly taken โคcare of.” She walked away from theโข show after nine days.
Van der Veer rose toโข prominence as the first openly transgender contestant on the Dutch version of โข Big Brother. She also appeared on Real Girls. She expressed a preference โfor those earlier experiences, stating she “really enjoyed” them.