Boyfriend of physically healthy Dutch woman who revealed her desire to end her life by euthanasia on her 34th birthday pays heartbreaking tribute to his ‘sweet Jolanda’: ‘No more pain’

The boyfriend of a physically healthy Dutch woman who revealed she would end her life through euthanasia on her 34th birthday has paid a heartbreaking tribute to her, wishing her ‘no more pain’ and saying he would ‘always’ will love her.

Jolanda Fun revealed this month that she hopes to be the last person in the Netherlands to receive a physician-assisted death, saying that despite the love of her partner, family and friends, she is in “constant pain” due to mental health problems.

On April 25, the day she planned her death, her partner Peter Silvius wrote her a moving message on Facebook. ‘Dear Jolanda,’ he said, ‘this is your day, the day of your birthday and the day that your wish comes true, a day with two sides.

“I will miss you dearly as you begin your final journey to a place where you will find peace and no more pain. I love you, you will always be in my heart, have a good last trip and see you soon xx’

The 34-year-old replied to her beau with kissing emojis and a short message that read, “Thnkx darling.” She has not posted since and it is unclear whether she went through with her planned death.

Earlier this month in an interview with The Sunday timesJolanda revealed that she was in a relationship with a 51-year-old man who “knew this was coming from the beginning.”

“But he really wants to have a good time together, and he still does,” she added, admitting the situation was “confusing.”

Shortly after posting the message to Jolanda, Peter shared a short snippet of a page of quotes on Instagram, appearing to be another touching tribute to her.

The meaningful text read: ‘I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you. I cry for you.

‘No matter what you do, I can’t fall in love with you. I can’t bring myself to forget you.

It continued, “I’ve never missed anyone as much as you. No one in this world means as much to me as you do.”

Peter’s Facebook page was updated in January to show the couple’s relationship.

Jolanda has been preparing for her death for some time. She even prints funeral invitations with the text: ‘Born of love, letting go in love… After a hard-fought life, she has chosen the peace she longed for.’

The physically healthy young woman said she had made assisted dying her goal since learning from a psychiatrist two years ago that Dutch law allows euthanasia for psychiatric reasons.

Jolanda suffered from psychological problems from the age of seven and struggled with an eating disorder, depression, autism and mild learning difficulties.

She said in an interview this month that she would prefer her life to end peacefully rather than commit suicide herself.

Despite having her family, friends and a small dog, she says she hides what she feels inside. She describes it as ‘darkness, overstimulation, chaos in my head, loneliness.’

She added that her decision to “take her own life” was also influenced by her mother and father being ill and “fighting to stay alive.”

Jolanda described what led her to end her life through euthanasia, calling it a “death with dignity” where one’s loved ones can be there.

“The rules are very strict,” she said of her decision and the long road to fulfilling her wish. ‘You don’t just get euthanasia, it’s a long process.’

The best euthanasia clinic in the Netherlands, the Euthanasia Expertise Center, reportedly rejected a request to handle Jolanda’s case last month.

However, after finding a psychiatrist to carry it out, and receiving approval from a third specialist doctor just over two weeks ago, her case met the threshold that allows assisted dying to proceed under Dutch law.

Figures show that 138 people with mental health problems were euthanized in 2023, which amounts to 1.5 percent of euthanasia cases in the Netherlands that year.

The Netherlands is one of only three countries in the EU where the practice of assisted dying is legal. Human rights organizations argue that this gives people battling a terminal or crippling disease the right to humanely end their suffering.

Data showed that in 2022, 8,720 people in the Netherlands ended their lives via euthanasia – an increase of 14 percent compared to the previous year.

In 2023 this rose again to 9,068, with the number of reported cases quadrupling between 2005 and 2023.

The 2022 figure represented 5.1 percent of all deaths in the country – but the actual number could be much higher as research shows that around 20 percent of euthanasia deaths go unreported, according to Dutch media.

No scientific research has been done to determine a reason for the dramatic increase in the number of people choosing to euthanize themselves, according to the Dutch Regional Monitoring Commissions (RTE), which monitors the deaths.

According to Dutch law, someone who wants to end their life for mental health reasons must meet six conditions.

They must be mentally competent, have a long-standing desire for euthanasia, the decision must be of their own volition, they must be aware of all alternative treatments and there can be no other reasonable solution.

Their suitability to end their life must also be confirmed by independent doctors, and can only be carried out according to very specific guidelines.

The vast majority of euthanasia cases are granted to people over the age of 60 with a terminal medical condition.

For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details