The production of a biopic about Dutch “Iceman” Wim Hof has been put on hold after multiple members of his family accused him of being physically and verbally abusive.
The film — which was to star “Shakespeare in Love” actor Joseph Fiennes as Hof — was paused in development due to the troubling allegations of domestic abuse that re-emerged around the controversial extreme athlete, Genesius Pictures told the Volkskrant.
Over the weekend, Hof’s former partner, Caroline, spoke to the outlet alleging that the extreme athlete subjected her, their son and her two children from a former relationship to 13 years of heinous abuse.
Caroline approached the Volkskrant after a producer on the biopic reached out to her, the report said.
She claimed that Hof physically attacked her for the first time in 2002, when she was pregnant with their son, Noah.
The confrontation supposedly started when Caroline urged Hof to find accommodations for his other four children, who were living by themselves at the time while he shared a home with Caroline and her kids.
“He slapped my face,” she told the newspaper.
“Then he dragged me through the room by my hair and tried to kick me in the belly. I was just about able to hide behind the couch, so his kick only grazed me. Then he left.”
Over the years, Carolina, Noah and Carolina’s older children, Christiaan and Nathalie, were terrorized by Hof, she claimed.
Hof — who refers to himself as the “Iceman” and is known for spending long periods of time submerged in freezing water — made fun of Nathalie’s appearance and called her a pig, the report said.
“He also threw hot coffee on my face,” Nathalie told the outlet.
Both Noah and Christiaan also repeatedly complained of physical abuse by Hof.
One night in 2006, Caroline said, she was convinced that Hof was going to kill her.
“He grabbed me by the throat, cutting off my breath. I was very close to dying. Eventually, he let go, probably because Noah was around,” she recalled.
The bombshell accusations were bolstered by police reports, court documents, a report from child protective services and the testimony of another of Hof’s former partners.
In 2010, Nathalie, then 16, told her mother she was leaving and would not come back until Hof was gone.
Caroline kicked Hof out, she said, but weeks passed and he still had not left.
On May 8, 2010, Hof allegedly threatened Caroline and physically attacked both Noah and Christiaan, the family claimed.
“Wim opened the door and immediately started shouting very aggressively that he would smash my head in. He was making these karate moves. At one point, he punched me in the stomach,” Christiaan told the Volkskrant.
He was left with a nosebleed and a black eye. Caroline managed to call the police, who arrived just as Hof wound up to throw a glass bowl at his stepson.
He was arrested at the scene.
Over the next few days, Christiaan filed a police report with Natalie as a witness. Caroline also filed a report outlining the years of abuse.
Hof was dealt a restraining order and was eventually convicted of domestic violence. In 2012, he was sentenced to community service and fined for the assault on Christiaan.
Three years later, the Child Protection Board documented how Hof would coerce Caroline into having sex by threatening to take Noah away from her or withholding alimony payments.
Several years later, Noah is still suffering from PTSD from the violence he was subjected to at the hands of his famous father, Caroline told the Volkskrant.
Hof rebutted the allegations on the show RTL Boulevard, DutchNews reported.
He accused Caroline of being “on the warpath” and insisted he was “not a violent man.”
The slew of allegations, he claimed, were the product of “jealousy, bitterness and envy.”
Hof’s daughter from his first marriage, Laura, also defended her dad in an Instagram post.
“My dad has never, ever raised a finger about me or Caroline! Caroline has physically abused me up to 2 times, verbally was a constant,” she wrote.
“Caroline kicked me out of the house, and then tried to block me and my dad multiple times.
“Caroline has denied Noah, my brother, my father’s right for years…Caroline is extremely manipulative.”
Hof rose to international fame in 1999, when he set the Guinness World Record for the farthest swim under ice at 164 feet.
Hof broke the record on his second attempt a year later, swimming 188 feet. On his first try, he attempted to swim without goggles and his corneas froze and blinded him.
He markets his extreme cold tolerance as the Wim Hof Method, which uses frequent cold exposure, breathing techniques and meditation.
Both the American Heart Association and the British Heart Foundation have issued warnings about cold therapy, urging would-be practitioners to consult with a doctor before attempting.
As of 2024, there were at least 32 reports of people who died while supposedly attempting the Wim Hof Method.
One of the victims was Madelyn Rose Metzger, 17, who was found dead in her family’s pool in 2022.
Metzger’s father claimed that she died while practicing Wim Hof Method of breathing underwater. Hof was found not liable for the teen’s death earlier this year.
