Greek television presenter Roula Koromila spent nine months living at the home of music manager Ilias Psinakis while she recovered from a serious autoimmune illness, Psinakis and singer Nino revealed in a joint interview about a little-known period the two men shared together.
Psinakis said singer Nino had stayed at his house for three months at the same time Koromila was there, at a point when she had all but disappeared from public life because she had become paralyzed by illness.
Psinakis said Koromila had suffered an autoimmune disease and had separated from a partner known as Galakteros around the same time she became paralyzed and was put on cortisone to help her recover. He said he did not cry when he first saw her despite how altered she was, adding that she was not the woman they had known.
He recalled inviting her round for coffee after a show to talk things over, not expecting the visit to turn into a nine-month stay. During that time doctors, masseurs and hairdressers came to the house to treat her, and she asked to see only a small circle of people: lyricist Manos Eleftheriou, a man named Petratos, Vasilis, the son of actor Kostas Karras, and Nino himself. Psinakis said that to make sure Koromila kept to a salt-free diet, those around her took turns staying awake through the night to watch over her.
The dawn arrival and the secret stay
Nino recalled getting home at 5am after working at a club when his phone rang and Psinakis's name came up. Psinakis asked where he was and whether he had something better to do. Nino said he went straight over, arriving at the house at 6am to find around 40 people there, including actor Kostas Karras. He said he ended up staying without anyone else knowing.
Psinakis added that he himself left the house two days later for New Year's celebrations before returning. He said the household was chaotic during that period but it never became public knowledge, and that the group who gathered there helped Koromila recover her health a great deal. He recalled how unwell she had been at the time, unable to eat because of the effects of the cortisone treatment.
The Thessaloniki car crash and the businessmen
Nino also shared a story from the early days of his career, describing how he met a businessman in Thessaloniki while the contestants of Fame Story, a Greek television talent competition, were waiting outside a club. He said a man suddenly emerged from bushes nearby, bloodied and in torn clothes, walked toward the group and introduced himself as Vasilis Gkogkos, saying he had just flipped his car.
Reflecting on 23 years working in music and nightlife, Nino said some of the most extreme stories he had lived through involved businessmen he had met along the way, adding that singer Antonis Remos now retells some of his stories to others.
