In 2020, Rico and Jacky decide to end their romance after a relationship of thirteen years. The kickboxer looks back on an intense time. “It felt like failure,” he says of this period. A breakup with the mother of his three children is something he would have liked to avoid. “Especially after how I grew up myself. Two parents who were divorced, almost from birth. So it’s not something you hoped for.” Still, he doesn’t think staying together is an option. “If you are not happy yourself, how can I make someone else happy? (…) Some people say: stay together for the children. Yes, super nice, but I don’t think that is the way. There will be discussions and it won’t be nice. The children will feel that too and is that the example you want to give to the children?”
The split with Jacky has also influenced his work. Just after they have put an end to their relationship, Rico has a match planned. His ex decides to come over in consultation to wish him luck – as they have always done. However, in hindsight this does not seem so smart. When the kickboxer prepares for a fight, all his senses are on edge. “You feel every breeze past you. (…) It’s very intense.” The moment Jacky enters the dressing room, Rico is overcome with emotions. “I could burst into tears of sadness, anger, disappointment.”
Rico calls it “just not convenient” that this happened before the fight. In the ring he immediately experiences the consequences of this. “I wasn’t there at all. I wasn’t where I needed to be with my mind at all. Physically I was in top shape, only mentally I wasn’t where I needed to be.”
In the meantime, both Rico and his ex are happily in love again. The kickboxer is head over heels in love with his Naomy.
