This coming Valentine’s Day is particularly difficult for Marie-Jeanne. Not only is it the first Valentine’s Day without her great love Willy Naessens, who died in March last year, but February 14 was also his birthday. “It is a day that I have been dreading for a long time,” says Huysman in ‘Dag Allemaal’. “I wake up every day with my sadness and go to sleep with it at night.”
“On March 31, it will be one year without Willy,” it says. Huysman realizes that loss is part of life, but that does not make it any less painful. “If it is your own partner who has to go, it hurts terribly.”
Willy Nassens and Marie-Jenanne Huysman on their wedding day in Elsegem © Peter Malaise
Marie-Jeanne had to say goodbye to her Willy this year: “Sitting at home is absolutely not an option”
Willy loves you
Willy was known for regularly calling for ‘his’ Marie-Jeanne. Then her name would resound throughout the house, as we saw in ‘The sky is the limit’. But today it remains quiet. “That silence is so confrontational,” he says. Marie-Jeanne tries to focus on her work as a distraction. She still goes to the office every day. “The less time to worry, the better.”
Also on Valentine’s Day, Willy remains present in his company, with his people. Every year, employees receive a gift on February 14. That tradition continues. “We will continue that, even now that Willy is no longer there,” says Marie-Jeanne. “This year the employees will again receive a gift with the message: ‘Willy loves you’. My husband should never be forgotten. The company will always carry his name.”
date:2026-02-10 15:22:00
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