Fast Confession - presenter Eva Perkausová: Men will always be hunters, whether a woman is single or married

Evi, you live in a beautiful place, how do you like it here? (ed. note: new buildings in Prague - Libeň)

I love it. In May, it will be a year since we’ve moved. I spent my last birthday in March in quarantine. Life here is beautiful, we have a view of the water, there’s a park just around the corner, where we go jogging, and the city centre is just a few minutes away. Everything is at hand.

Prima used to be in Palmovka, it's a pity that’s no longer the case.

Yes. It was one of the reasons why I moved from my mother’s house in Jesenice to this area, to Karlín, because Prima was close. But at the time when I was about to move, Prima moved to, throwing a wrench in it for me. But it's true that every time I drive past Palmovka, I feel nostalgia and I remember the old Prima, the old gang. Prima was much smaller back then than it is now. When we come to the new building in Strašnice, where both the environment and the people are new, it seems very timeless.

How do you feel about the transition to the huge CNN Prima News?

I don't know if I’m entitled to having an opinion about the transition. From a presenter’s point of view, not much has changed for, compared to, for example, footage. We have twice as long footage as before, 45 minutes per live broadcast. I think the visual aspect also must be a nice change for the viewers. The graphics are different, the news has a modern style. There’s a 2-floor studio there, which is one of the largest in Europe. I believe that the audience is also satisfied with this change.

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And you are satisfied?

I'm excited, I say it often and everywhere. It already sounds a bit cliché to me, but I always look forward to going to work. I come in, wait for the red light to blink on and adrenaline flows in my veins. My job recharges my energy cells.

How many years have you actually worked in television?

I began in the Top Star Magazine, replacing Iva Kubelková. Then I joined the daily Top Star, which was filmed live every day. Then they put me in the news with Roman, I think this is my third year there. The funny thing is, Iva actually kicked me out of Showtime. I replaced her five years ago, now she went to Showtime after me, which got me dumped into the news. (Laughs)

So I've been working in the media for five years.

You started very young, at about twenty-two.

Yep, a naive young thing (laughs).

How have you changed during the five years in the media?

How I changed on the screen is for others to judge. But yes, I do see there’s been a huge leap since my beginnings in Top Star, when I wonder how I could even talk like that, show myself on the screen, and why didn’t anyone tell me I was on a wrong path. When I look back at my awkward beginnings, I often feel like I have to stop watching. Even now I have a problem with looking at myself, I don't like to hear my voice and I don't like to look at myself. If I had to sum it up, I’d say I sometimes have to be ashamed. (laughs).

What were your life priorities at twenty-two compared to your current ones? I’m guessing handbags, shoes, parties…

Exactly. I think most women go through that process. At the age of twenty-two, I had no idea what my future would look like, what and where I’d be doing, if I wanted to have a family one day. You don't concern yourself with that at all. Your only problems are going to work, having a coffee with friends, finding a good movie to watch or buying a new T-shirt. But you certainly don’t think about your future. The turning point in those five years is that I am beginning to think about mine.

How long have you been with your partner?

Four years.

He’s recently proposed, congratulations on your engagement. Were you aware he was going to do that?

Not at the moment, but after four years in a relationship, the woman already suspects that something like this could come.

How did your fans react to the engagement? The men must have been disappointed.

My friends' first reaction was that all the men will be heartbroken. I'm a bit sad when men comment on my social networks, leaving crying emoticons or messages such as "pity, so soon" and the like. Deep inside, I always feel a little sorry for them, but sooner or later it would have come anyway.

Men often try their luck via Instagram, invite women for a date and so on.

True, they do that!

Are they still trying? Didn’t it discourage them?

The funny thing is that men will always be men. They’ll always be hunters, whether a woman is single, engaged, married or with children. That's how guys are and it will never change. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, just that it’s a fact.

So it’s upon you, whether you’ll resist.

Oh, I will resist, trust me. (laughs).

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What about Ivan, isn't he jealous?

No, I don't think so. Not anymore. And he doesn’t really have a reason. Having a girlfriend who works in the media means has to count on the fact that people might be interested in her.

But he didn't know that at first.

No, but he had to accept the fact that there would be interest from other parties. Since I’m active on social networks, I’m in the public eye. I think he made peace with it. He had to. One can’t really be together with someone famous without accepting there will be some interest.

He’s older than you by how many years?

Eleven.

Do you poke fun of him because of his age?

I would probably be poking fun of him even if he was only five years older.

Does he mind?

He can take a joke. We make fun of each other all the time, it’s our butter and bread. We have a lively relationship, our friends are even telling us how nice it is that we are still in love after four years together. Everything is still sun and rainbows, I have an idyllic relationship and I wish it would stay that way. It’s beautiful.

I’ve read you're both hot-headed.

Yes, we are.

Have you ever felt like you had enough and would rather end it?

When it comes to our relationship, no. I’ve never had a moment when I felt like throwing it all away. Absolutely not. We might argue every day, but it never gets as far as blaming each other or considering a breakup. I’d probably only think about ending it, if infidelity came into the picture, whether from his side or mine. But I believe that will never happen.

He comes from Ukraine. Does he have some traditions that you follow?

They do have traditions in Ukraine, and I did ask him about the different dates when they celebrate Christmas and Easter. But since we live in the Czech Republic, we stick to our dates. From an early age, I was led to do keep our traditions, so he adapted. We have the typical Czech Christmas and Easter, no change there.

Not even when it comes to food? Didn't he want you to learn to cook his favourite dishes?

The great thing is that Ivan makes their specialities for me. He knows how it’s done, he knows how it should taste, and he’s good at it. I probably wouldn't even dare, if I was felt like it, to try it sometime. He likes to cook a special meal for me every now and then, and it tastes great.

Any specific dish?

Of course, borscht, but that's not a special meal. He can cook Uzbek plov, he really loves it, so we have it quite often. It's a kind of borscht without beets. There are beans, cabbage and potatoes in it, it’s a hotpot of everything you can think of. I like exotic and spicy foods and this checks all the boxes, so I enjoy it. We each have our respective tasks in the kitchen, which came about naturally, he prepares their special dishes and meat, which is his area of expertise, he’s a real grill master. I take dibs on girly things like baking and typical Czech meals.

Can you tell us something about the wedding? Do you already have a date?

Absolutely not. I’m going with the flow, we haven't really concerned ourselves with it at all yet.

So it’s not going to take place within a year and a day?

It’s said that this rule should be observed. Maybe it will happen sooner, maybe later. I intend to try and keep the tradition, but as I said, we haven't talked about it at all yet.

How did your loved ones, your mom, react to the engagement?

They were happy, of course. There were a lot of reactions that day. I went even live that day.

And it went public on TV.

Exactly. People figured it out during the broadcast, because I had a ring on my finger when I went live, which I had been leaving at home until then, so that this exact thing wouldn’t happen. One day I forgot to take it off... and it was visible during the broadcast. That's how the info got out. Until then, I’d wanted to keep it to myself and not make too much fuss about it, so that the whole thing wouldn’t blow up the way it did.

How long have you been keeping it a secret?

It's been a while (laughs).

In the Maldives?

I even told the TV channel where I work that I wouldn't be reacting to it at all. I said what I wanted to say, I don't want to deal with it anymore.

What did you say?

That it was a beautiful romantic moment. I decided not to make it public, nor would I be able to share the atmosphere through TV screens or social networks. I want the two of us to be the only people remembering it, so that we’d have something that’s just ours. I'm usually an open book, but this is a moment I want to keep to myself.

Alright, I won't bother you anymore. Recently, you and Ivan have been in the Maldives, but you couldn’t return because your partner was positive. Was it... expensive?

We had insurance. The travel agency gave us covid insurance, so we were covered. Until then, I hadn’t even known that such insurance existed. I know we always have some kind of additional insurance, but I never check what's included in it. And considering the situation we ended up in, I was glad that it was there.

What was your reaction when you found out that Ivan was positive?

I gasped and let out a chuckle, I couldn’t believe it. I thought they were kidding. They’d told us that they would give us the results at check out. While we were packing our suitcases and getting ready to go to the reception, they came to tell us that we weren’t going anywhere because my partner was positive. After discussing the situation, I asked if I could at least leave alone, because of work. I thought I was going to be in trouble.

But it wasn’t an option. They told me I would have to be retested, but no sooner than in 14 days. I appealed everywhere I could, at the embassy, at the travel agency. I hoped that perhaps when they hear that I work in the media, it might move them and they’d give me the chance to be retested, of course at my own expense, and go home. But it really isn’t possible sooner than in two weeks, that’s the rule they have there and nothing can change that. What I found a little sad was that people were writing to me if it wasn't just an excuse for me to extend my vacation. I couldn’t explain the whole situation, that it really wasn’t possible.

How did they react to it at work?

At work, they’re already making fun of it, because whenever I go somewhere, they get to laugh at me, as something totally obscure always happens. When we went to America a few years ago, while flying over the ocean, they closed the Kennedy Airport, and we ended up somewhere in Canada in minus twenty-three degrees. And when we were going back home, there was a Serbian guy on board who was so drunk that they had to add a stopover, due to which we missed our transfer flight. Really, every time I go somewhere, something unpredictable and unusual happens.

When I wrote to work from the Maldives, I got a ton of smiling emoticons in response. They didn't know what to do about it either. But, naturally, they immediately found a replacement -Soňa Porupková from Nový den, who, together with Karel Voříšek and Klára Doležalová, filled in for me for two weeks. When I returned after almost a month, I was almost ashamed to show my face at work. I expected everyone would be poking me about my extended vacation. In the end, everything was fine, they took it well. They knew I wasn’t to blame.

I remember seeing a photo of you doing a headstand on a paddleboard. How did you manage?

It wasn’t easy (laughs).

Did you manage to hold it longer than those two seconds for a photo?

Yes, but it was challenging. I think I have a video somewhere on the internet where I’m practising it. At first, I had a life vest with which I was practising. Then I took it off to see if we could take a picture, if I could stay in that position. It was my first attempt and my third time on the paddleboard in history. I immediately liked it, but it's not like I go looking for a paddleboard, it's quite chill. I'm more into adrenaline sports, surfing, jet surfing and all that. I just tried it for fun and it was nice.

Let me ask this, because a lot of people have gained weight during lockdown, the gyms are closed. How do you maintain your figure? When are you eat borscht all the time?

I eat all day (laughs). People know this about me, a eat lot and enjoy it, I don't limit myself at all.

Is that still true? Doesn't that change with age?

People tell me it changes after thirty. So far, I’ve been lucky. I really eat a lot, but I compensate for it with running. I'm not saying I go for a jog every day, but about three times a week, five or ten kilometres.

Haven’t you gained weight?

I haven’t. My weight stays the same, even if I exercise or try dieting. I have a stable weight no matter what, I can’t explain it. Whether I overeat or skip meals, it's been the same for several years.

Do you do any other sports? Yoga, for example?

I tried hot yoga a few years ago, I thought I would die. It's like forty degrees there, I was afraid I wouldn’t pull through, even though I have a stellar physical condition. It discouraged me so much that I never even wanted to try normal professional yoga. The most I am willing to do is a bit of stretching at home, but I don’t find it all that enjoyable. I have to go jogging, burn some energy. Calmer positions, poses, correct and slow breathing aren’t for me yet.

Evi, what would you wish our readers for the next few days?

Good health, patience and optimism!

Thank you very much for the interview.