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It will be a different Christmas for most people, but for Marianne Behn and Olav Bjørshol it will be very special and difficult. On the first day of Christmas a year ago, her son, Ari Behn, took his own life.
OPENLY: It is in the big Christmas issue of Se og Hør that Ari Behn’s parents talk about the past year. Photo: Facsimile of See and Hear
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Christmas will never be the same for parents, who now see the holidays approaching by leaps and bounds. In an open interview with Se og Hør, in the magazine’s big Christmas issue, the couple talk about the past year.
Open about the last time with Ari
Looking for the son
Here they talk about the last Christmas celebration with their son, and what happened on the first day of Christmas. Ari and her father had spent a quiet and peaceful Christmas Eve together, although the former hardly ate anything. The next day they were going to a Christmas party at their parents’ house, along with the rest of the family.
– The pain will always be there
When Ari had to prepare, however, his father disappeared, who had to search for his son. He explains that he noticed the front door was ajar and was therefore leaning against the study.
After knocking on the door, Ari replied that she needed some time to relax. After a talk, the father returned to the house to wait, and after a while he returned to the study. Then he got no answer.
– I spent a while going in, because the door was closed. I didn’t think he took his own life. I’m still so in awe of that, he says.
As a result of various physical challenges, Ari was admitted to the hospital on December 17, exhausted. When Father Bjørshol saw his son on Christmas leave, he was surprised.
– It hurt to see him so tired and weakened. It hadn’t been that long since I’d seen him. What had happened to Ari in such a short time? It was incredible. I did not believe in my own senses. It was so strong, he says.
Do you need someone to talk to?
- Acute suicide risk: 113
- Emergencies: 116117
- Mental Health Helpline: 116123, sidetmedord.no
- Kirkens SOS phone: 22 40 00 40, kirkens-sos.no
- Cross on the neck (Red Cross): 800 33321, korspaahalsen.rodekors.no
- More information on crisis phone numbers and websites can be found on the information pages of the National Center for Suicide Research and Prevention: nssfinfo.no
One year later
From the beginning, the parents chose to be open about the cause of death. Throughout the year, they have appeared in various interviews and have been praised for being open about something that hurts so badly.
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Ari was a famous person. We chose to say it like it was so as not to create speculation, and in the hope that we could help others, Marianne Behn told Se og Hør shortly after death.
MOTHER AND SON: Here’s Marianne Behn pictured with her son in 2017. Photo: Andreas Fadum / See and Hear
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Later, Papa Bjørshol also said that he was with his son when he died.
Ari also left behind three daughters Maud Angelica (17), Leah Isadora (15) and Emma Tallulah (12).
The eldest daughter, in particular, has been open about her father’s death, and the speech at the funeral is probably something many Norwegians will remember for many years to come. Leah Isadora has also stepped into the public eye this year, through her first interviews with the Norwegian press.
Here Ari rests
Princess Märtha Louise (49) has also sincerely told the public how she felt after the death of her ex-husband.
READ ALSO: We should have celebrated Christmas together
