INTERVIEW WITH IVANA MACHÁČKOVÁ – MASTER’S GIRLFRIEND/ For six long years, Ivana Macháčková (30) used to be referred to as ‘the one going out with Gott’. Even though there were several women who ‘used to go out with Gott’ none of them had ever been as privileged as Macháčková. She is the first woman with whom Karel Gott decided to live, to whom he gave the keys to his villa and with whom he planned to have a baby that is due soon. What makes her different from the others?
And why does this 30-year-old independent woman go out with a man who is more than twice her age and whose music used to be loved by her grandma’s generation? When I arrived at Gott‘s villa in Prague’s Bertramka to see Ivana Macháčková, she was browsing through her childhood photos. “Karel wanted to know what I looked like as a baby to get a better idea of what our baby could be like. So had my mom bring these pictures“.
Is it true you are going to have a son?
“This news first appeared in a tabloid that had reportedly obtained it from a reliable source. And the information was copied by many others. Karel and I were disillusioned and disappointed to see that tabloid journalists can really write what they want and even show somebody else’s ultrasound scan with Karel’s alleged mention of us expecting a son. Karel called the editor’s office to let them known that their source should return the money he had received for this extraordinary information. In the meantime, many people believed the news and as a result we are receiving nothing but blue baby clothes although we do not known ourselves whether we are going to have a boy or a girl“.

Do you really not know that?
“No, we don’t. We want to be surprised“.

Will you be disappointed if you have a daughter? She would be a third Gott baby-girl.
“Karel and I straightened this out right at the beginning. It is true he said five years ago or so that he would not like to follow the fate of an old Czech historic figure called Krok who had three daughters. Well, this statement made on one occasion has been quoted ever since. Karel told me that he would like the baby to be healthy and not be something in-between. He says he’ll be happy regardless of the baby’s gender. One day I’d like to have both a son and a daughter anyway. So, I cannot be disappointed in any case“.

Will you get married?
“I always believed in a happy marriage even though my parents got divorced. I believed that two people who love each other get married, have kids and go together in good and bad times until death parts them. Like my grandpa and grandma did. But my opinion changed in the course of time. A wedding is no longer important to me today because Karel and I live in harmony. And I do not like it when some media try to solve this issue in our name“.

Your parents were divorced?
“Yes, they got divorced when I was four. And one year later …“ (she takes a long pause)

Did something bad happen?
“Yes, I had a brother. His name was Přemysl. He did tragically when he was seven and I was five. I have never talked about him“.

What happened?
“He got knocked down by a car on way to school. Before he died my mom spent three days sitting by his bed in hospital. I could not believe it then. It was only one year before this tragedy that our parents got divorced. All of a sudden, there was only mom and me“.

You were a relatively small child then. What do you remember from that time?
“I remember my brother taking care of me, dressing me up ad taking me to a day care. He loved me. I was his princess. And I also clearly remember a moment when my mom, brother and I, it was already after the parents’ divorce, lay in bed and my brother said he wished Karel Gott had been his father“.

I cannot imagine the feelings of such a small child when somebody so close to her dies.
“My mom wanted me to attend as many afternoon courses as possible – so I did music, art and dancing to get in touch with other kids and forget about my brother. But I cried wherever I went. As our family was shrinking, I feared that my mom would not come and pick me up from my classes and I would be left alone. Later she found a boyfriend who became my second father and I also had another brother, Pavel. When he turned seven, the age at which my first brother Přemek died several years before that, it was a very emotional time for us and we literally spoilt him“.

Do you get along with your own father?
“Yes, I do. When I was a child, my relationship with him was not really warm. I used to see him about three times in a year because he worked as a surveyor in Russia. However, in recent years we have been lavishly compensating for what we missed earlier“.

I am asking because some believe that if a girl misses a father in her childhood years she may tend to be attracted to older partners as an adult.
“Well, it may be true but my choice of partner depends on many more factors. For instance, I appreciate men who accomplished something great in their life“.

Is it true that you dated Michael Douglas?
“Yes, I met him when I lived in the US“.

What is Douglas like in reality?
“Michael was courteous, very witty, kind and funny. Of course, I didn’t know then that Mr. Right was yet to come“.

How did you two meet and what was your relationship like?
“When I was in San Francisco I went to see the shooting of the Game movie and Michael’s eyes met with mine while I was standing in the crowd. When he heard I came from Czechia he wanted to impress me with his knowledge of Czech by uttering a vulgar word he had learned from director Miloš Forman. From that moment on he was a true gentlemen, asked me out and the invitation led to two wonderful years until I left the States“.

What did Karel think of Douglas?
“Forts, he started to comb his hair back the way Michael does it. But when Michael married Catherine Zeta-Jones, Karel was relieved and returned to the genuine Karel Gott hairstyle“.

And how did a young lady like you meet Karel Gott?
“First we saw each other in 1998 at a TÝTÝ Award evening where my friend Monika Žídková introduced me to Karel. He wanted my telephone number but I gave him a wrong number as I knew he had a girlfriend at that time. After all, I had a boyfriend then too“.

So it was not love at first sight?
“He courted me for a long time. I was not really infatuated but it was flattering to know we were friends. I remember that at the beginning, when we were nothing but friends – and that period of our life was quite long – we used to spend, let’s say, two days together during which Karel was painting and talking about his painting while I was just sitting there watching his painting technique. Infatuation developed in the course of time which was something I had never experienced before“.

How did you manage to accomplish what every other woman before you failed – that is to live with Karel Gott and plan a family with him?
“Frankly, I don’t know. I’d like to find the answer myself“.

Karel is said to have told once that as soon as a woman begins to move paintings from one wall to another in his house the story is over.
“You see!! I do this quite often. I even suggested several innovations to him and he agreed with them gladly“.

Maybe you know how to approach a man like this – you do not argue, you are not hysterical; instead you are calm and tolerant.
“Karel is fully stretched with his work and I try to provide him with the most pleasant and inspiring atmosphere“.

I will miss my work

How do you experience your pregnancy?
“Just like any other woman. I am more careful and, of course moodier and more sensitive. I am starting the seventh month. So far I have been able to work, tidy up and cook. I feel happiest when I am at home so it is convenient that I can work from my home“.

Perhaps you can also advise other mothers-to-be where they can get pretty clothes for expectant mothers.
“Not really, I am rather looking for stores with becoming tracksuits and pajamas.
Those are most comfortable for me right now“.

Perhaps, one could imagine you wearing jogging pants but what about Karel Gott? Does he wear track pants at home? Or does he have them at all?
“He doesn’t have a single pair!! That I know for sure because I just arranged his clothes in a new wardrobe room. Karel has refined taste and sticks to an elegant style. But I like it best when he wears jeans and loose-fitting pullover. The pity is that he wears this only around home“.

Being Karel Gott’s partner, you do not have to work yourself. So why do you work?
“I need to have a sense of self-sufficiency and self-fulfillment. All of my life I have taken care of myself and I enjoy my work. I can imagine staying at home with a baby for two years but afterwards I’ll get back to my work“.

Will you miss the Broadway Theater where you work as a PR manager?
“I love my work and I will definitely miss the atmosphere of the theater and the wonderful team of people. As we speak I have no idea when I’ll be able to work after giving birth but I would like to help with the promotion and production of the Angelika musical that will have a premiere in our theater in February 2007“.

How did you come by this job?
“It was a long roundabout way. I always wanted to be an actress. As a small girl I acted in the Opava Theater and dreamt about studying at a conservatory. But my parents who spent their all lives working in a hospital wanted me to become a doctor. Instead of studying drama I went to a nursing college. I applied for drama courses at DAMU and JAMU universities twice but I was never accepted. I felt despondent and disappointed. I cried for a few nights and then told my mom I’d go to America. Coincidentally, a friend of mine who had gone in for modeling with me called me suggesting that could come and join her in the US as an au-pair“.

What did America mean to you personally?
“America was a great adventure even though my stay was rather rough at the beginning. I worked for an Arab family. All of a sudden I found myself standing in front of a huge palace in New Jersey without suspecting that I was going to take care not only of a handicapped child but also of cleaning the whole house. The only Arabic word I remember from that time is jala – ‘Come on’. This episode ended when I ran away to my friend’s place. She helped me to put an ad in a paper and then the choice of families I worked for was much better. It was eleven years ago so I see it with the benefit of hindsight. Today I would not be so light-headed“.

But it did not mean that you successfully put aside your attempts to become an actress.
“Not at all. I took acting, singing and dancing courses in New York. There was not a new musical at Broadway that I would have missed. I devoured all TV talk shows that were either unknown here in the Czech Republic or only their infancy. I even went to see them in person. I put down all the themes, made notes, and I always raised my hand and asked questions. I dreamt that after coming home I’d have my own talk show, be a moderator and act in a theater“.

Why did this dream not come true?
“Everything took a different course. When I was 22, I returned to Prague. I contacted several radio and TV companies, I went for auditions, I did camera tests, but all of those efforts vanished into thin air. So did my self-confidence. And I decided to find my place behind the camera rather than in front of it“.

And you started to work for foreign companies that shot foreign movies in the Czech Republic.
“Yes, I exploited my good command of English and became an assistant to foreign actors and directors (Joel Schumacher, Anthony Hopkins, Andie McDowell, Wesley Snipes – note by Jan Adam). I wanted to get closer to my dream. It was unforgettable experience“. (Ivana took one of her ‘clients’ Andie McDowell to an exhibition of Karel’s paintings. Karel was delighted as McDowell is his favorite actress whom he painted as a naked lady on a horse. Andie McDowell took the picture along to the USA – note by Jan Adam).

Did your relationship with Karel Gott change your interests?
“I have always had a large number of hobbies and interests, ranging from traveling, picture taking, getting to know other cultures, religions or languages – at present, I am taking Spanish and German lessons, the latter because of Karel. I am interested in books about things that were less known in the past, I enjoy browsing through dictionaries and language textbooks. Thanks to Karel I began to pay more attention to art. However, even when I was in America I liked going to museums and learning about painters. I also bought many books about artists then“. (Besides her many other hobbies, Ivana and her good friend Czech singer Ilona Csáková share a great interest in supernatural phenomena and in ‘wizardry’. They are even said to have regular weekend rallies – note by Jan Adam).

And what has changed in your life because of Karel?
“Actually, everything. Karel is the best thing that could ever happen to me. My dream came true“.

Andrea Ježková, magazine MF dnes ONA DNES, January 13, 2006