– I hit the wall 100 percent

– Welcome!

Niklas Baarli stands shoveling snow at the brand new cabin in Hadeland, while the dog Bjarne runs around frantically. He hugs his former colleague in Good evening Norway, Marte Bratberg, who has made the trip to summarize the year.

– I had imagined that the year would be much quieter than it has been. It has been a turbo year, completely crazy. Damn tiring, but also crazy fun, says Baarli when the two have settled in indoors.

He started the year as presenter of Good Evening Norway, presenter of the breakfast show on P5, podcast host and, not least, Farmen celebrity participant.

Become “hate”

It was Farmen kendis who was supposed to make things boil around the moss. He ended up deep in the reality bubble, and the popular Niklas Baarli was unrecognizable.

– I have worked in the media since I was 18, and it has always been pretty alright. Only good feedback all the way. So it was new to suddenly be a guy that people didn’t like. As people stated what they thought about. It was no fun, Baarli recalls.

Suddenly, friendly smiles were replaced by yelling from older ladies at the shop.

– Yes, it dawned on me. When it’s on the front page of the newspaper day in and day out, there are comments on the shop, and you can’t go out on the town without someone saying something about you. The pressure becomes quite intense, says the 33-year-old.

He singles out the argument with Øyunn Krogh as the worst. There were many reactions after Baarli, among other things, called her an “ass person”.

– During that period I was mostly at home. Then I couldn’t go out the door without someone shouting.

Visited a psychologist

Baarli eventually had to seek professional help, and fortunately that help is not far away.

– I have the world’s best husband who is fortunately a psychologist, so he knows how to handle crises. I used him a lot. In addition to that, I started going to an actual psychologist, because the pressure was simply too much, he says.

When the Farm was “finally” over, the Baarli train by no means stopped. In addition to leading God kveld Norge, the Breakfast show on P5 and podcasts with her husband Benjamin Baarli Silseth, Niklas was to lead Gullruten, he took part in “Sofa”, and the program “Alt min far ikke har lert meg” was just around the corner.

– When I have to tidy up myself, I always forget one or two things. I don’t understand how I got that solitaire to go up. You couldn’t turn on TV 2 for a while without my nose being there, says Baarli.

He says that he slept very little. The days started with morning radio at 05:00, and with various recordings they could last until 23.

– It was perhaps the hardest months I’ve had in my life, it was absolutely terrible. I would like to see that I said no to some projects or postponed them. But there is something about when the train goes, as long as it doesn’t stop, you get to the finish line one way or another, explains Baarli.

Struggle with anxiety

Some might say that’s the recipe for burnout, and Baarli admits that he eventually hit the wall.

– Yes, yes, I hit the wall, 100 per cent. For the first time in my life I have experienced anxiety. I have been in bed several times and have not been able to get up.

He says that it had nothing to do with the Farmen criticism, but it certainly didn’t help. As he worked 12-hour days, it felt like he was hated by the entire nation.

– Then I would make popular TV with my father, smile on the sofa and make entertainment in the morning. The sum total of it left me unable to stand up for a few days. I just lay there with anxiety and convulsive crying. I guess that’s what’s called an anxiety attack then, says an honest Baarli.

Those who know Mossing know that he likes a good bottle of wine and a party. He also found time for this in everything.

– On weekends when I should have gone in, I went out. You should cut back on alcohol and eat vegetables. Instead, I ate red meat every day and drank as much alcohol as I could get my hands on. So I lived way too hard, but now I’ve slowed down, says Baarli.

When he receives Good evening Norway at the cabin, he can say that he has lost 11 kilos, and only eats once a day.

The solution to the problem was a good summer holiday, and a clean-up in the calendar.

– Getting time to breathe was what was needed, and to realize that I have to start saying no to things.

This autumn he has “only” led Farmen and made morning radio on P5. In addition to the podcast “Baarli and Benjamin go to therapy”. In May, there is a new round of the “Gullruten”.

He is not bored.

– No, I have discovered that it is quite pleasant to be with my husband. He’s actually a pretty nice guy. I understand why I fell for him 11 years ago. Father, it’s so nice to have free time, now I’m big, smiles Baarli.

Wants to have children

When you work as much as Niklas Baarli has done in 2022, there is also a lot of money in the coffers. But as much as he likes to make money, he also likes to spend it.

– I holiday expensively, I have bought a cabin, a car and an apartment. The money goes there. I have a company that I leave the money in, and then I take out a salary for myself. Then I also try to save some money, says Baarli, who reveals that there is something very special that he and his husband are saving for.

– I must have money for children then, because surrogacy is very expensive. We talk about children, and we want children. But fortunately we don’t have a biological clock, I feel perhaps that we have a window until we are 40.

He says that the dream is to adopt, but then Norway’s politicians have to make demands on other countries.

– The countries that adopt children away do not accept homosexuals, and if we want to adopt a Norwegian child we are given low priority, so it is not possible in practice, says Baarli.

The father has cancer

Even though the spring was hectic, Baarli is very grateful that he got to make the program “Everything my father didn’t teach me” with dad Lars Baarli (70).

– It was a TV programme, but for me it was an opportunity to get to know my father. I really appreciated that. Now my father has become ill with cancer again, so the six months there are worth their weight in gold to me, he says.

Baarli says that they have always had a good relationship, but that they have not been together that much. Whether there will be a new season is difficult to answer now.

– Right now he is in the hospital and receiving chemotherapy. He has bone marrow cancer, so it’s quite serious. We’ll see if we manage something, and if he’s capable of it.

Christmas at the cottage

As a child of divorce, Baarli has not been very happy at Christmas, a time he describes as an eternal juggling journey. A kind of Christmas tour. This year, he and his husband are celebrating at the cottage, and those who want can come and visit.

– When it’s finally a holiday, I have to take a holiday and take it easy. Mother-in-law and brother-in-law come on Christmas Eve, and on Christmas Eve mother and her husband come. Dad was also supposed to come up here, but he is in hospital so I have to interrupt my holiday and visit him, says Baarli.

The dog Bjarne will of course also be there, who himself has overcome cancer this year.

– Bjarne is healthy! In the middle of it all, Bjarne got cancer, but we managed to save him. Talk about the dark times… It feels like I’ve been born again, smiles Niklas Silseth Baarli.