The manufacturing of a biopic about Dutch “Iceman” Wim Hof has been placed on maintain after a number of members of his household accused him of being bodily and verbally abusive.
The movie — which was to star “Shakespeare in Love” actor Joseph Fiennes as Hof — was paused in improvement because of the troubling allegations of home abuse that re-emerged across the controversial excessive athlete, Genesius Footage advised the Volkskrant.
Over the weekend, Hof’s former accomplice, Caroline, spoke to the outlet alleging that the intense athlete subjected her, their son and her two kids from a former relationship to 13 years of heinous abuse.
Caroline approached the Volkskrant after a producer on the biopic reached out to her, the report stated.
She claimed that Hof bodily attacked her for the primary time in 2002, when she was pregnant with their son, Noah.
The confrontation supposedly began when Caroline urged Hof to search out lodging for his different 4 kids, who have been residing by themselves on the time whereas he shared a house with Caroline and her children.
“He slapped my face,” she advised the newspaper.
“Then he dragged me via the room by my hair and tried to kick me within the stomach. I used to be nearly in a position to conceal behind the sofa, so his kick solely grazed me. Then he left.”
Through the years, Carolina, Noah and Carolina’s older kids, Christiaan and Nathalie, have been terrorized by Hof, she claimed.
Hof — who refers to himself because the “Iceman” and is understood for spending lengthy intervals of time submerged in freezing water — made enjoyable of Nathalie’s look and referred to as her a pig, the report stated.
“He additionally threw sizzling espresso on my face,” Nathalie advised the outlet.
Each Noah and Christiaan additionally repeatedly complained of bodily abuse by Hof.
One night time in 2006, Caroline stated, she was satisfied that Hof was going to kill her.
“He grabbed me by the throat, chopping off my breath. I used to be very near dying. Finally, he let go, in all probability as a result of Noah was round,” she recalled.
The bombshell accusations have been bolstered by police reviews, court docket paperwork, a report from little one protecting companies and the testimony of one other of Hof’s former companions.
In 2010, Nathalie, then 16, advised her mom she was leaving and wouldn’t come again till Hof was gone.
Caroline kicked Hof out, she stated, however weeks handed and he nonetheless had not left.
On Could 8, 2010, Hof allegedly threatened Caroline and bodily attacked each Noah and Christiaan, the household claimed.
“Wim opened the door and instantly began shouting very aggressively that he would smash my head in. He was making these karate strikes. At one level, he punched me within the abdomen,” Christiaan advised the Volkskrant.
He was left with a nosebleed and a black eye. Caroline managed to name the police, who arrived simply as Hof wound as much as throw a glass bowl at his stepson.
He was arrested on the scene.
Over the following few days, Christiaan filed a police report with Natalie as a witness. Caroline additionally filed a report outlining the years of abuse.
Hof was dealt a restraining order and was finally convicted of home violence. In 2012, he was sentenced to group service and fined for the assault on Christiaan.
Three years later, the Little one Safety Board documented how Hof would coerce Caroline into having intercourse by threatening to take Noah away from her or withholding alimony funds.
A number of years later, Noah continues to be affected by PTSD from the violence he was subjected to by the hands of his well-known father, Caroline advised the Volkskrant.
Hof rebutted the allegations on the present RTL Boulevard, DutchNews reported.
He accused Caroline of being “on the warpath” and insisted he was “not a violent man.”
The slew of allegations, he claimed, have been the product of “jealousy, bitterness and envy.”
Hof’s daughter from his first marriage, Laura, additionally defended her dad in an Instagram submit.
“My dad has by no means, ever raised a finger about me or Caroline! Caroline has bodily abused me as much as 2 occasions, verbally was a continuing,” she wrote.
“Caroline kicked me out of the home, after which tried to dam me and my dad a number of occasions.
“Caroline has denied Noah, my brother, my father’s proper for years…Caroline is extraordinarily manipulative.”
Hof rose to worldwide fame in 1999, when he set the Guinness World Report for the farthest swim underneath ice at 164 ft.
Hof broke the file on his second try a 12 months later, swimming 188 ft. On his first strive, he tried to swim with out goggles and his corneas froze and blinded him.
He markets his excessive chilly tolerance because the Wim Hof Technique, which makes use of frequent chilly publicity, respiratory strategies and meditation.
Each the American Coronary heart Affiliation and the British Coronary heart Basis have issued warnings about chilly remedy, urging would-be practitioners to seek the advice of with a physician earlier than trying.
As of 2024, there have been a minimum of 32 reviews of people that died whereas supposedly trying the Wim Hof Technique.
One of many victims was Madelyn Rose Metzger, 17, who was discovered lifeless in her household’s pool in 2022.
Metzger’s father claimed that she died whereas practising Wim Hof Technique of respiratory underwater. Hof was discovered not chargeable for the teenager’s demise earlier this 12 months.
