Samantha de Jong: ‘Barbie is dead, I left her in Scotland’

She became known in an ordinary program, then grew into a heroine in the Hague neighborhoods, and then fell very hard off her stage. Barbie had a breakdown. A little Britney Spears, a little Lindsay Lohan, call it what you want. A combination too much of everything, surrounding yourself with people who have no idea what is best for you and above all: narcotics. With her umpteenth cry of despair, it became really clear to everyone: this woman needs help.

Now I must honestly admit that I always find this kind of news a bit sleazy, but I also think we should report the good news when we have written about the bad. Because Samantha is slowly recovering. And that’s good news.

After spending four months in a rehab clinic in Scotland, she is cautiously starting to speak up again on Instagram. She claims to feel reborn. “As you can see, I left my blonde look behind in Scotland and continue as Samantha de Jong and focus on my recovery,” she writes with the photo.

In Story, she tells for the first time how things really were. When she and Michael van der Plas were getting divorced, everything went wrong. She wanted to continue caring for the children together, he wanted nothing to do with it. “To numb that pain, I started using. Cocaine.” She doesn’t remember much, but “I did notice that I was slowly losing everything: my husband, my children, my house, my car, four dear friends who passed away… And I learned the hard lesson that other friends had bad intentions for me.”

In January, it comes out in the news that Samantha has attempted suicide. She is released from the clinic fairly quickly. In April again in the headlines: Barbie takes an overdose of sleeping pills. In July it happens for the third time. “Due to the combination of coke, alcohol, and those heavy sleeping pills, I went into a psychosis early that morning,” she says. “I was so depressed, I was so far gone. Then I jumped out of my window. Not slid, as was said, but jumped.”

It’s a long way up when you hit the ground. But step by step, things are getting better for Samantha. She never wants to be called Barbie again. “My name is Samantha and Barbie no longer exists. The blonde hair reminds me too much of Barbie and that’s why I chose this beautiful chestnut brown color. I’m very happy with it. The girl Sam is back.”

Dear Samantha, the girl with the big mouth and the small heart, I hope you can finally keep your head cool in this cutthroat world where everyone always wants something from you. Take your rest, shrink that friend group, and fall back on the foundation that will always love you: your family. And you know what they say about the word failure, right? Failing is not collapsing. Failing is refusing to get up. And just between you and me: that thing about blondes having more fun is a lie. Go get them, brunette.