The online traveler community is mourning the loss of a fellow explorer.
Vanessa Konopka, a German influencer who shared her adventures living in Boracay, Philippines under the name @happinesscrossing, died March 7 after a battle with liver damage and pneumonia, her boyfriend Fernando confirmed in a Facebook post that same day. She was 28.
“This morning, on March 7th, Vanessa passed away,” Fernando wrote. “She always loved connecting with you all, and her love for the Philippines was beyond words. 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.”
Fernando, who also shared about his own travels in the Philippines alongside Vanessa, also included a note directly to his late girlfriend.
“If you are perhaps reading this somewhere, thank you so much for teaching me how to love myself doesn't matter what other people think,” he continued. “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.”
Vanessa’s passing comes months after her final post to her social media platform in January, where she detailed her struggles in a hospital in the Philippines, where she was living with Fernando.
“Sad, overthinking, in pain,” Vanessa wrote in a video detailing her experience as a patient. “Until, this Filipino doctor came into my room by surprise to tell me how much his wife loves my videos and if we can call her.”
The late 28-year-old also included a clip of her talking to the fan, noting it had brightened her stay. She added, “Thank you everyone, and let’s keep praying."
In a GoFundMe page for himself and Vanessa amid her treatment, Fernando shared that the travel influencer had been hospitalized since December saying that her ailments left her “extremely weak, unable to eat properly, walk, or even speak easily.”
Prior to her hospitalization, Vanessa had been dealing with illness for several months and shared a message to her followers amid her difficult time.
“This time made me realize though how important health is,” she wrote in a June post on Instagram, “and how lucky we all can be that we are alive and healthy.”