The Unexpected Passing of Filip Nikolic
On September 16th, 2009, Filip Nikolic lost his life at just 35 years old. Today he would have been 49 years old. His ex-wife Valérie Bourdin revealed why she wanted to tell her story with the former leader of 2be3 on paper: “When a publisher suggested the idea of a book to me, I thought it would be an opportunity to describe the Filip I knew. Far from the smooth image he may have given,” she confided.
Valérie’s Sacrifice for Filip
We learned that he had refused a huge movie role at 24 to stay with Valérie. “We had only been together for a year, he could have left me. But he chose to pack his bags. The role went to Antonio Banderas,” she explained. (Very) Few men would have been capable of such a sacrifice.
The Complexity of Filip’s Life
Mother of Tanelle (the fruit of a previous union), Valérie gave birth to Sasha in 2005, born of her love with Filip. Dying from the consequences of a probable cardiac arrest due to an overdose of medication, the singer had separated from Valérie a few months before his death. Opting for “decency”, she simply revealed that he suffered from an alcohol addiction. “I left only to spare the children (…) Saving the family unit was my priority. I loved him. I had confidence in his ability to bounce back,” she explained before adding: “Filip enchanted our lives. I will never know why he was not able to overcome his addiction. He left with his secret. I hope he rests in peace.” Regarding the reasons for his death, she specified: “To say that show business killed him is a cliché. Filip’s distress dates back to his early childhood. He always refused to open up to anyone. Not even to a psychologist. He died because his heart gave out, weakened by abuse… He had also become epileptic.” Nostalgic of the man she considers to be the love of her life, she also drew an unvarnished portrait of the singer, not omitting to reveal his little faults such as his extreme jealousy but also his bad faith. “I forgot to mention that he was a bad loser, to the point of cheating to win,” she pointed out. On the other hand, Filip Nikolic always had the great quality of being extremely protective with his wife.
