kopen zonder kijken: stel uit utrecht baalt van kritiek op hun 900.000-euro-budget
Utrecht, zaterdag, 2 mei 2026.
Een stel uit Utrecht staat in de spotlights na hun deelname aan ‘Kopen Zonder Kijken’. Ze boden een budget van 900.000 euro uit, wat veel kijkers choqueerde. Volgers gingen snel uit van een adellijke achtergrond of een grote erfenis. De realiteit is anders. Kim en Wilko spaarden jarenlang streng. Geen miljoenenervaring, geen privileges. Alleen discipline. Na de uitzending kregen ze zo veel negatieve reacties dat ze hun telefoons uitzetten. Toch voelen ze zich nu veilig en welkom in hun nieuwe woonboerderij in Schoonrewoerd. De buren brachten bloemen. Het dorp omarmde hen. Kim is 18 weken zwanger. Ze droomt al van wandelingen met haar dochter. Wilko plant een moestuin. Voor zijn verjaardag krijgt hij klompen. Het leven gaat door, ondanks de storm online.
controversy around a nine-figure budget
Kim van Assendelft (34) and Wilko Derksen (32) sparked debate after revealing their home-buying budget of €900,000 on the television program ‘Kopen Zonder Kijken’ [1]. Viewers expressed disbelief online, speculating about noble lineage or large inheritances [2]. The couple dismissed such rumors, stating their funds came from years of disciplined saving and modest living [1]. Their financial approach began during their time in a small apartment in Utrecht before moving to Schoonrewoerd [1]. The backlash grew intense enough that they temporarily disconnected their phones after the episode aired [1][2].
life beyond the headlines
Despite online criticism, the couple now lives peacefully in a farmhouse in Schoonrewoerd [1]. Neighbors welcomed them warmly with flowers and welcome cards shortly after their arrival [1]. Van Assendelft appreciates the supportive rural community, contrasting it with what she describes as distant city life [1]. She is currently 18 weeks pregnant and looks forward to raising her daughter in a close-knit environment where many families have young children [1]. Derksen plans to build a vegetable garden behind the house and improve an existing greenhouse [1]. For his upcoming birthday, he will receive wooden clogs meant for gardening—chosen personally by his partner [1].
the reality behind the savings
The pair emphasized personal responsibility rather than privilege in building their housing fund [2]. Neither inherited significant wealth nor held elite social status [2]. While Derksen received a minor inheritance from his grandmother, and Van Assendelft lost her father early, neither event contributed substantially to their budget [2]. According to Van Assendelft, Derksen has never placed an online order in four years, reflecting extreme frugality [2]. Both worked stable jobs—he at a utility company in Nieuwegein, she as a corporate advisor at KPMG in Amstelveen—which enabled consistent saving [2]. Their lifestyle choices, not windfalls, made homeownership possible [2].