A travel influencer who developed a severe illness after collapsing at a New Year’s Eve party in the Philippines has tragically died.
Vanessa Konopka, 28, who was known for her online travel vlogs, suffered a lengthy health battle that left her bedbound in hospital for months, and unable to eat or walk, according to her heartbroken boyfriend. The Solingen-native internet star was diagnosed with pneumonia and severe liver damage, and was later left bedridden by the illnesses after she attended a doomed party in stunning Boracay. During this time, Vanessa was unable to speak, sit up by herself or go outside for fresh air. There was a brief glimmer of hope when her condition momentarily improved, allowing her to post online to her fans.
Vanessa and her Brazilian boyfriend Fernando ran a succesful vlogging channel called “Happiness Crossing” where the pair shared striking footage of their travels. Their channel soon turned into a documentation of Vannesa’s illness, with clips from her hospital bed.
The influencer’s followers soon grew worried when the clips showed Vanessa’s skin appeared to be turning yellow from jaundice. But in a positive update on February 20, Fernando said she was “out of danger”. He wrote online: “Vanessa is out of danger now, she reunited with her mother and they are both now in Boracay [Philippines]. They will wait a few more days until Vanessa gets strong enough so she can go back to Germany for treatment.”
Fernando had set up a GoFundMe page in a bid to raise enough cash to get an air ambulance to fly Vanessa home so that she could be with her loved ones. But just two weeks after the hopeful update, Vanessa tragically died. A devastated Fernando confirmed she passed away on March 7, posting: “Once again, I can only ask for your prayers so that God may bring comfort to the hearts of her loved ones. I trust in him, I know he is with Vanessa and I know God is always with us.
“Kushka, if you are perhaps reading this somewhere, thank you so much for teaching me how to love myself, it doesn’t matter what other people think, she showed me how to love myself, and how to follow my dreams. I will forever love you and we may see each other again.”
The adventurous couple met in Australia and moved in together in the Philippines in December 2022. They settled down on the party island of Boracay, where they filmed much of their vlogging content.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
