«Do you want to give up your freedom?»
Andrea: «I had been divorced for a few years when Domenic and I became a couple. The boys were seven and five.»
Laurin: «Flurin and I always wanted Domenic to come round more often. After two years, it's still cool that the four of us live together.»
Domenic: «When I got together with Andrea, there were already critical voices: Do you want to get involved with a family, give up your freedom? You don't have to be considerate of anyone, said a friend. You can't live on that, was my answer. I didn't have cold feet.»
The worst thing for me would be if one of the boys said: You're not my father, you have nothing to say to me.
Domenic Scandella, 56
Andrea: «The boys have never questioned Domenic. It's also clear to me that he's involved in the upbringing, we live together and share the same values.»
Domenic: «And discuss it. Now comes the time when the boys don't always like to talk. But I want them to know that I'm there. Even though I'm not their father and never wanted to compete with him.»
Flurin: «Dad never had that feeling. He knows you're good to us.»
Laurin: «It's practical for mum and dad that Domenic takes care of certain things. If there are problems at school, he usually takes care of them.»
Andrea: «We already go to parent-teacher conferences together. My ex-husband has ceded this part to Domenic, it's a long journey from Zurich. I keep him informed afterwards.»
Laurin: «We are now allowed to travel to Dad's alone. We go there every other weekend.»
Flurin: «I like the fact that we now have a brother, not a real one, but still. Mael is the son of my dad's girlfriend. At the beginning, I thought it was stupid that he was always there. With three of us, one was often excluded. If the argument got out of hand, everyone had to sit down with Dad and talk. Now I think it's cool that Mael is there.»
Laurin: «Flurin and I now have to share a room, Mael has my old one. But my dad has set up a cool chill room where we can retreat.»
Flurin: «Our family has many members, all with different characters. I think it's great that they still get along.»
Andrea: «My ex and I are doing really well on the whole. We split up before things could have got out of hand and managed to act in the best interests of the children.»
Domenic: «The worst thing for me would be if one of the boys said: You're not my father, you have nothing to say to me. Not because I want to replace my father, but because then I would feel like I had no role to play.»
Andrea: «You shouldn't take that personally. I said the same thing to my stepfather.»
Flurin: «What did you say to Grandad?»
Andrea: «Yes, not because I didn't like him, but because in puberty you sometimes say things without thinking about what they will do to the other person.»
