Sverre Anker Ausdal on the loss of Kirsti Holmen: – In the end I had to give her up

In 2021, actress Ausdal lost her partner, Kjersti Holmen, and she died after suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Although Osdal himself became almost completely blind after complications during surgery in 2008, he has been living with his partner at home for a long time, he says. Longer interview with VG.

– In the end I had to give it up. It was very difficult. Then I remember something they told me at the memory clinic at Olival Hospital. They said they thought it was surprising that I was able to keep her home for so long. “I was blind, and I was very affected by the end,” Ausdal adds. VG.

Friends discovered the disease first

He says it was a relief to have him with him after the loss became real. However, he was one of the last to find out that she was sick. Friends found out earlier, when they saw on her face that she “wasn't completely on board.”

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“But I eventually understood that something was wrong,” he says.

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He's still on stage

Although Ausdal retired from the National Theater in 2014, he remains relevant on stage. Now in the lead role in the theatrical production of the play “Strawberry Farm” by Ingmar Bergman. The director is Johannes Holmen Dahl, Kirsti Holmen's nephew.

– It's a piece that needs a very special actor to do it. It is a great honor to work with Sverre and an honor to do so here, says Holmen Dahl to VG. The play premiered on January 21, 2023, and will run at the National Theater until February 14.

Earlier in December, he also lost his ex-wife, Bodil Osdal. The former ballerina passed away after a long illness. They have three children together and were scheduled to celebrate Christmas together.

– It has been 25 years since our divorce, and we have overcome most of the difficulties surrounding it. We had a very nice relationship.