Jill Belen had extra concerns on her round-the-world trip due to pregnancy RTL Street

The couple had just finished a tumultuous period in Japan when they travelled through New Zealand together in a campervan. “The first day we went around in that campervan, Flor said, ‘I feel a bit different than usual,’” says Gill. “We had already decided in the Netherlands that we wouldn’t use contraception during our world trip, and the idea in our minds was that it would be six months or a year before it happened. But it turned out differently, because Flor turned out that we were a week pregnant in New Zealand, and we made a romantic story out of it in our minds, like, ‘Oh, could it have happened during that rough trip in Japan?’”

However, Gil also had a lot of concerns right away due to his partner’s early pregnancy. The radio coordinator even considered leaving the trip because he was the “breadwinner”. In his mind, he had to get a job as soon as possible. He specifically cancelled it so he could go on a trip around the world.

The couple quickly had an ultrasound after discovering that Flor was pregnant. “Everything was fine and our baby was born during our farewell weekend in the Netherlands,” says Gil. During the rest of their trip around the world, the pregnancy was of course the talk of the town.

According to the radio producer, it “deepened” the relationship between Jill and Fleur. “And it taught me more that you have to give things space to grow.”