Darter Jules van Dongen apparently can react quite impulsively if frustrations take over after a defeat. In an anecdote, he tells The American Dream podcast that he once forgot to bring his wife with him after a painful defeat.
His wife Lisa, with whom Van Dongen has been living in the United States for more than a decade, clearly could not appreciate the action of "The Dutch Dragon" and showed it to the darter.
"It doesn't happen very quickly that I get angry or do crazy things," Van Dongen began his story. "I had packed my bag and got in the car. I was well p***ed off. And then I found out I had left my wife behind. She called on 'where are you?', I said 'yes, at the hotel...'"
In all American fashion, his wife let it be known that she was not taken in by this. "I did have to say sorry. And slept on the couch one night," Van Dongen said. It eventually took a day for Van Dongen to apologize to his wife. "But in the moment itself I really didn't care. Then I didn't say sorry either. It's best to be on my own for a while then."
How Ms. Van Dongen finally managed to get to the hotel? 'The Dutch Dragon' did not make a right turn to pick her up himself. "She had arranged her own transportation," he said. The presenter then asked if all was well again between the couple. ''I haven't seen any divorce papers yet,'' Van Dongen joked in response.
Van Dongen can be seen regularly on television in the coming weeks. Next weekend, he will be one of the participants at the US Darts Masters in New York, while 'The Dutch Dragon' will also have a shot at the North American title during the same weekend.
Later in the month of June, Van Dongen may compete for the third time on behalf of the United States at the World Cup of Darts in Frankfurt. This year he forms a team with Danny Lauby.