Tomasz Karolak talks about his split and relationship with Viola Kolakowska

Tomasz Karolak and Viola Kołakowska: The turbulent end of a relationship

Tomasz Karolak has confirmed that his relationship with Viola Kołakowska has long since ended, but only now has he decided to talk about it publicly. In an interview with the programme `Life No Makeup’, he admitted:

I was in a very difficult emotional relationship. My pre-existing beliefs were at work – I have a pattern from home that I have to endure at all costs, the family has to be together at all costs. I think I had to learn that it didn’t have to be that way. I attracted such a person so that I could learn to set boundaries and say ‘no’.

This moving confession sheds new light on the motivations and struggles the actor lived with.

Lack of support in the relationship and undermining the value of work

One of the themes that resonated in the interview was the lack of support Tomasz Karolak felt in his relationship with Viola. He confessed:

‘I’m a man who people love for different things, and I didn’t have any support at home.’

He also said that he often encountered belittling of his career – opinions that his fame was an accident – which he felt violated the fundamental respect for his work as an actor.

My so-called career was presented as an accident. Not that I worked in the theatre at the beginning with eminent directors: Mikołaj Grabowski, Kazimierz Dejmek… I chose this path out of complexes and a desire to focus attention on myself. (…) I was denied my identity as an actor – I no longer say artist: ‘I’m as much of an artist as I am of a goat’s ass’. It’s all a coincidence, a matter of luck.

Convictions from home as an obstacle in a relationship

Karolak emphasises that for a long time he lived according to the patterns he had picked up from home – sticking to the principles that “the family must be together at all costs”. This approach, while seemingly noble, was thought to block opportunities for openness in the relationship and for setting boundaries. His words also suggest that the relationship with Viola was a lesson for him – he had to learn that the permanence of a relationship does not have to mean suffering.

See also: Tomasz Karolak in a new role! The comedy ‘Death Before the Wedding’ is now on Netflix