Sparkling look and contagious smile, Eglantine Éméyé (48) has hardly changed since she became known as Miss Weather. However, her life has been marked by a terrible ordeal: the severe autism of her second child who has multiple disabilities. The host and actress makes this her strength, without masking the difficulties she faces. In his latest book All your words in my head, she is inspired by her daily life, between happiness and pain, to draw an inspiring tale. The one who also hosted an Iraqi refugee for a time confides in the magazine Here is on his work but tackles another delicate aspect of his family life: the place of his eldest.
Before Samy was born, in 2003, his first son, Marco, now 19 years old. When her second son was born, marked by a severe handicap, everyone’s life was turned upside down. “Sometimes I was told: ‘Above all, don’t forget your eldest son.’ I was a single mom and I did what I could. Marco has developed hypersensitivity, no doubt linked to his journey as the brother of an autistic child. As a child, he attended scenes too difficult for a child“she reveals in Here is.
As is often the case when a child has a significant disability, the couple falls apart and women have to raise their children alone: ”Looking back, what I experienced is unimaginable. I spent nights crying, lying on top of him to contain him and prevent him from hurting himself. And again, I was comfortable and I was doing financially. Some are alone – in most cases, the fathers quickly leave the ship – in 28 m2 with three children, one of whom is autistic, and they may love him viscerally, it is unlivable for all. We have made a lot of progress on the detection of autism, but that is not everything.“
The young Samy, 16, is now placed in a specialized institution. A difficult decision to make but which saved their family. If she is separated from the father of her boys, she has since found love again, as she revealed in Paris here in April. The lucky winner is called Richard, a documentary filmmaker, father of a daughter. Together, they now form a beautiful blended family.
Find the full interview in the magazine Here is from May 13, 2022