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“Let's Dance” candidate about difficult childhoodViolence, alcohol, children's home – Betty Taube still remembers her mother fondly
Violence, alcohol problems, life in a children's home.
Thanks to her mother, Betty Taube had a childhood that was anything but easy. Despite the horrific experiences, the “Let's Dance” candidate today speaks surprisingly lovingly about her mother, who died when Betty was 18 years old. Why she is grateful to her despite everything – and why the memories of her still play an important role in her life today.
“Let's Dance” candidate Betty Taube: Children's home was my salvation
“Let's Dance” says Betty Taube currently confidently on the floor every Friday – and successfully. But her life could have been completely different. The 31-year-old talks about this in an RTL interview: “I grew up with my mom. She was a single parent and also an alcoholic and I was with her until I was eight years old and experienced really not so nice things of violence, emotional physical violence. It was all there somehow“, says Betty Taube openly. In the video, Betty Taube also talks about her father – and why a clarifying conversation with him is still pending.
The experiences from her childhood still shape her today. For example, alcohol doesn't play a role in her life. “I've never had a glass of wine in my life and never a sip of beer either,” she says. Just the smell of wine can trigger memories of her childhood. Her own book, “Say, the bruises come from playing,” was published in October 2025, in which she travels back to these painful chapters of her life.
At the age of eight and a half, Betty ends up in a children's home, where she lives until she is 19 years old. As a child, she doesn't understand this step at first. Only later does she realize that it was precisely this time that changed her life: “It was only when I started tidying up that I realized that in the end it was actually my salvation and that this time actually made me what I am today. Because who knows what would have become of me if I hadn’t come to this children’s home.”
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Betty Taube remembers her mom positively: “She had a big heart.”
Despite the difficult experiences, the 31-year-old doesn't only look back on her mother negatively. Because in addition to the painful memories, there are also things that she still associates positively with her to this day: “My mom also taught me great things. For example: She had a big heart. I think I got that from her too.”
Betty Taube dealt with her past through therapy.
RTL
When Betty was 18 years old and was filming “Germany's Next Top Model,” her mom died. Especially when a person is no longer there, memories change. It's the same with Betty. “You forget relatively quickly what was bad and you still try to remember the good moments, especially when the person is no longer there. And I do that very often and I still miss them completely.”
Video tip: Betty Taube dances back to her youth – and remembers the stroke of fate
One thing in particular from her childhood remains with Betty Taube to this day: a sentence that her mother passed on to her at an early age. “You have to go through it as a amphibian if you want to become a frog. That's my motto. I got the saying from my mom.” And this sentence is currently helping her in her “Let's Dance” adventure.
Watch “Let’s Dance” at any time on RTL+
The new season of “Let's Dance” has been running every Friday at 8:15 p.m. on RTL and in since February 27th Live stream on RTL+. Missed the episode? No problem! Past episodes of the popular dance show are available to watch at any time on RTL+.
Sources used: Own RTL research
