Anne Meuwissen said that when Joël, 23, proposed to her two months earlier, her first thought was that he still chose her. She said her tics had become increasingly intense in recent years, but Joël had remained with her.

Anne said that living with Tourette syndrome involved more than occasional tics and that she sometimes felt trapped in her own body. She also said that even when she walked to the altar screaming in her wedding dress, Joël saw her rather than her Tourette syndrome.