Linda Mertens in 2026: Milk Inc.'s Return, the Tragedy That Changed Everything, and What Is Known About Her Personal Life

Few comebacks in Belgian pop culture have felt as emotionally loaded as Linda Mertens returning to music. Born on July 20, 1978, in Wilrijk, Antwerp, Mertens rose to prominence as the lead vocalist of electronic dance music group Milk Inc., which she joined in 2000.

For years, she was the unmistakable voice behind some of Belgium’s biggest dance anthems, from “Walk on Water” to “Land of the Living,” filling arenas and topping charts across Europe. Then, without warning, she was gone. The years that followed were shaped not by a career decision but by personal loss so profound that music itself stopped making sense to her. Understanding where Linda Mertens is now requires understanding what she had to survive to get there.

The Tragedy That Took Her Off the Stage

Linda had a long-term relationship with a man named Bo, a childhood friend she had known for years before they became a couple in 2013. Their daughter, Lio, was born on November 15, 2014.

The name Lio was not chosen arbitrarily. It was built from the first two letters of Linda and the final letter of Bo’s name, a quiet symbol of everything the relationship represented. Less than six months after Lio’s birth, Linda and Bo separated, with a statement released saying all attention and love was directed toward their daughter. The split was painful enough on its own, but far worse was still to come.

In September 2015, Lio was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer. Linda immediately began stepping back from all her professional commitments, unwilling to miss a single moment with her daughter. On April 7, 2017, Linda Mertens lost her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Lio. The music world that had been waiting for a Milk Inc. comeback went quiet in an instant, replaced by grief shared by fans across the country. Regi Penxten, her collaborator and the producer behind Milk Inc., made clear he would wait for as long as she needed.

Linda Mertens (Image via X)

In 2020, Regi stated that Linda’s return to Milk Inc. was unlikely, and he continued focusing on his solo career. Linda, for her part, had stepped away from the spotlight entirely. She has spoken about wanting only to be in nature during those years, finding silence and peace there, and trusting that she would feel when the time was right to return. That trust, quiet and self-directed, would eventually prove well-founded.

After years away, Linda quietly returned to performing in 2022, starting with a festival in Blackpool, England, alongside other names from the Belgian dance scene. Since then, she has performed at events in the UK, Spain, and Ireland.

These smaller international shows served as a way to ease back in without the full weight of her home country’s expectations pressing down on her. According to an interview with Nina magazine, performing abroad felt less emotionally charged because foreign audiences were unaware of her personal story, and those shows functioned as a kind of rehearsal for her return to Belgium.

That homecoming came in October 2023, when Linda made a surprise appearance at Regi’s “The Return” concerts at the Sportpaleis, and the audience’s reaction made clear how deeply she had been missed. From there, the momentum built rapidly. In 2024, the duo performed under the name “Regi vs. Milk Inc.” and sold out the Sportpaleis an extraordinary seven times. The response from Belgian fans was not just enthusiasm but something closer to relief.

For 2025, the duo released a brand-new single titled “Unstoppable” on September 4, which also lent its name to a new series of shows at the Sportpaleis scheduled for October. Significantly, the track features lyrics co-written by Linda herself, marking a new creative dimension in her involvement with the group.

As for her romantic life, Linda keeps it firmly private. Her only publicly known relationship was with Bo, and since their separation she has not confirmed any new partner. Her Instagram bio, which describes her simply as a mother, artist, and animal lover, says everything about where her priorities now lie. She is back, she is creating again, and she is doing it on her own terms.