He leads her, and she leads him: together we go

Gereon Klein has been talking about his partnership of almost 20 years with Marie-Luise Gerhold for a few minutes when things threaten to become too harmonious for him. "No, no, wait a minute," he shouts across the living room of the flat they share, "we both sometimes have a lot of stress together." Just don't romanticise everything, please don't glorify and kitsch things up. After all, arguments happen almost everywhere.

That shouldn't be underestimated either. Gereon Klein, for example, is sometimes annoyed when he has to repeat himself several times because his partner can no longer hear well. This occasionally leads to misunderstandings, which cause further conflict. However, this is not unusual; after all, disagreements are part of everyday life in most marriages and partnerships. What is much more interesting is how Gereon Klein and Marie-Luise Gerhold support each other despite their differences and, above all, despite the impairments they live with.

This becomes clear, for example, in their answers to the question of which of them leads whom when they leave their flat in Bielefeld-Gadderbaum. "You lead me," she says. Logical: Marie-Luise Gerhold is almost blind. "Yes, but sometimes you guide me too," he replies. Of course: Gereon Klein has epilepsy and can only use his left arm to a very limited extent. So he guides her, but at the same time she also guides him. We can do it together.

The two got to know each other at Haus Emmaus in Bethel. Marie-Luise Gerhold used to come there regularly for swimming and gymnastics. She was given the key to the pool and gym at the gate. And Gereon Klein sat there. Most of the time, anyway. "I was always happy when he was there," she says, "he's calm, easy-going and cheerful, and I thought right from the start: he's a likeable guy." An assessment that is based on mutual respect. But Gereon Klein would never say that. Just not too much romance, of course. "Yes," he says, "I could well imagine it with her too."

So he invited her to his birthday party, and shortly afterwards Marie-Luise Gerhold came to do an internship at Haus Emmaus. He kept in touch after that and visited her regularly. They became a couple in 2002 and moved into their shared flat in 2014. Being close to each other there also has practical and even necessary advantages for the couple's survival. If he has an epileptic seizure, she gives him the necessary medication. She herself is grateful to have him by her side because he gives her guidance when she can't manage something due to her poor eyesight.

"We are really there for each other," says Marie-Luise Gerhold. And Gereon Klein nods.

Text: Philipp Kreutzer | Photo: Thomas Richter

Addendum: Marie-Luise Gerhold passed away in 2023.