The Netherlands’ future prime minister Rob Jetten and his Argentine fiancé, Nicolás Keenan, have come under scrutiny after what critics say is the pair’s overtly intimate behaviour on Instagram and TikTok.
On national television talkshow Vandaag Inside, popular TV commentator Johan Derksen said: “Jetten is a likeable man who has done well for his own group. But he should cuddle less with his boyfriend in photos, because that constant clingy behaviour is really starting to bother me.”
Earlier in January, Guido den Aantrekker, editor-in-chief of the Netherlands’ largest celebrity magazine Story, said on the De Oranjewinter prime-time talk show: “Rob Jetten and his partner spend all day licking each other’s ears.
“It’s perfectly nice that two men have been treating each other this way for years — that’s lovely. But he is the intended prime minister. I think in that position, you can afford to create a bit more distance,” he said.
Earlier on the show, host Hélène Hendriks raised a more serious question: “It’s very sweet but does this undermine his authority?”
“No,” came the guests’ response. “That’s outdated thinking.” TV personality and parliamentary reporter Merel Ek added that society is simply not used to seeing such openly intimate behaviour. “This is, of course, a young prime minister in the age of social media,” she added.
💖🏑 Amor olímpico, mensajes privados y un futuro histórico: Nicolás Keenan y Rob Jetten
La nota: https://t.co/E1UIFhbcKi#WOW #NicolasKeenan #RobJetten #AmorGay #OrgulloArgentino pic.twitter.com/b2HLWwLePG
— WOW (@wowasinomas) January 20, 2026
Jetten and Nicolás – an Argentine field-hockey player – became engaged in 2024 and have planned their wedding in Spain. In their TikTok videos, the couple can be seen kissing in front of a Christmas tree. In a video featuring “highlights of 2025” posted by Nicolás, Jetten is shown jumping on his partner on a couch.
@nicokeenan97 well, 2025 was not bad at all✨🤩
Another video has been circulating for some time in which Jetten is held in a tight embrace by Nicolás as the two engage in playful physical contact in front of the camera.
Jetten, whose party Democrats 66 (D66) won 26 seats in the last election — making it the largest in the Netherlands — is now heading toward the formation of a minority government along with the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).
He has never concealed his private life, which previously sparked controversy when he revealed that he and his partner wish to have children and are looking for a surrogate.
Last year, in an interview with TV presenter Beau van Erven Dorens, Jetten said adoption in the Netherlands has become virtually impossible due to past abuses of the system. “For gay couples, surrogacy often means going abroad. In the United States, you can easily spend around $150,000 to find a surrogate, which I think is an absurd amount,” he said.
According to the D66 leader, the situation in the Netherlands is poorly regulated. A woman cannot be asked to act as a surrogate but must instead offer herself voluntarily.
“So you have to hope that you happen to meet someone who wants to be a surrogate and fulfil your wish to have a child,” Jetten said.
In response to questions from Brussels Signal, a spokesperson for Rob Jetten declined to comment.
