They met in the mountains, on a climbing trip. "The mountains were the thing that brought us together," said Mr Janša. "In a bond between two people, there must be an area where their interests overlap. With us, one such area is certainly our love of the mountains. At the beginning it was maybe even the decisive factor," he added.

"We happened to have some mutual friends and we went on climbing excursions together," said Urška Bačovnik Janša. "I remember our first climbing trip very clearly. It was on Loška stena. Janez's group of friends invited me to joint them. I was at the height of my climbing career then, just back from a climbing expedition in Peru, and was in great shape," she said with pride, adding, "so the proposed route, which is on the longest rock face in Slovenia, seemed almost too easy for me!"

Ms Bačkovnik Janša was put in a rope team with Janez Janša. "They told me I had to look after him because he was the Prime Minister," she said, laughing. "And then we looked a bit askance at each other the whole way because I kept him on a pretty ‘short leash’ and he did not approve!"

A part of the interview was dedicated to the topic of bringing up children and on what values they try to pass on to their two children. "I think that every person brings up their children based on the experiences from their own childhood. I have often thought about what it is that my parents instilled in me that is most valuable. I think it is the sense of justice, to know how to distinguish right from wrong without laws," said Mr Janša, while his wife added that above all she wishes to teach their children to respect everyone, including those who think differently, and to be kind to everyone as well.

The Prime Minister and his wife also talked about how the coronavirus pandemic affected family life, about their common love – the mountains and their memories of their student years.

At the end of the programme, they also shared their New Year wishes. Mr Janša wished everybody good health and that we would defeat the coronavirus and start to live a normal life again. Ms Bačkovnik Janša said that she sees life as a journey, a journey without a map, and that it should remain so in the year to come.