Dad Fakes Own Death, Appears before Relatives during His Funeral ‘to Give Them a Life Lesson”

• David Baerten staged his own funeral.
• The TikTok creator felt disconnected from his family and wanted to teach them a lesson to appreciate each other more.
• Some people agreed with Baerten's prank, but some thought it was cruel.

Friends and family gathered on a painful and emotional day to say their final goodbyes to David Baerten. Many empathized with his wife, children, close friends, family, and his 162,000 followers on TikTok, who also felt his passing.

However, what was meant to be the saddest day for the friends and family of Baerten will probably go down as one of the most shocking days for them.

The Reason behind David Baerten’s Fake Death

The Belgium TikTok creator got his wife and children to plan his fake death. He gave them an elaborate plan on how everything would go down, and the Baerten family was willing to help him.

One of his daughters started by posting about her father's fake death on social media and captioned one of her posts with, "Rest in peace, Daddy. I will never stop thinking about you."

The daughter followed up with another emotional post, writing, "Why is life so unfair? Why you? You were going to be a grandfather and still had your whole life ahead of you. I love you! We love you! We will never forget you."

The next step for the family was to stage the funeral near Leige, where mourners gathered to say what they thought was their final goodbyes.

But Baerten made a grand entrance with a helicopter and a camera crew. Many of his loved ones ran towards him as he stepped out of the chopper.

One of his closest friends, Thomas, was seen crying and hugging his friend, saying, "You got us." Thomas confessed how distraught he was about Baerten's death. "We love you very much," he told him.

Despite the relief that Baerten was alive, an explanation was expected of him. The TikToker's prank caught a lot of media attention, and it was reported that the father's reason for faking his own death was he wanted to teach his family a lesson.

Baerten confessed that his relationship with his family saddened him. He said he had not been invited to anything, making him feel unseen and unappreciated. As such, he reasoned,

"I wanted to give them a life lesson and show them that you shouldn't wait until someone is dead to meet up with them."

Baerten has yet to release the footage from his camera crew, but one of the TikTokers who attended the fake funeral managed to get some footage of the helicopter's arrival.

Did David Baerten's Lesson Work?

While Baerten wanted to see how many of his family members would show up to his funeral, he said only half his relatives showed up and have reached out to him since his fake funeral.

Some of those who weren't able to attend have also contacted Baerten and asked to meet up, and for him, that was his mission accomplished.

The intention behind his lesson had mixed reviews from Facebook users. Some people thought Baerten was right to teach his family a lesson and to get them to appreciate each other more.

Those who agreed with him also thought it was sad that Baerten had to go to such extremes to get to his family. "I feel your pain," said a commenter.

But while other netizens understood the fundamental idea behind Baerten's prank, they thought he should have appreciated the love he got from his immediate family.

Even though he did not speak to some of his family, the user reiterated that some people are busy, but it did not mean they did not love their extended family.

Moreover, other Facebook users thought it was a "sick prank" and that his family would later not believe him anymore if he were to actually die.

More people thought the prank was extreme and said that Baerten could have opted for a simpler option, like turning off his Wi-Fi. One netizen also believed that the whole ordeal was "cruel", adding that they would not attend Baerten's real funeral.

Regardless of the mixed reactions his elaborate plan received, Baerten was happy to have reconnected with some of his family members.

Here's another story about a man who faked his death for his mistress.