From grieving to glowing: How a heartbroken widow found love again

In November 2020, the thought of falling in love after losing her fiancé, Ben, seemed unimaginable. Despite Ben’s passing, the love they shared remained, and the idea of moving on felt impossible. However, eight months later, a serendipitous encounter with a Portuguese man on holiday changed everything.

The love story began in September 2014 when she swiped right on Ben’s dating app profile. He was the embodiment of Prince Charming – a 30-year-old music agent with curly brown hair, sparkly green eyes, and olive skin. Their love story unfolded rapidly, leading to Ben moving into her South London flat just a few months after their first date.

Their blissful journey took an unexpected turn when a biopsy revealed Ben’s stage two soft tissue sarcoma in July 2019. Despite undergoing surgery and radiotherapy, the disease proved relentless, metastasizing to his lungs in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. Desperate for a cure, they explored every possible treatment option, even seeking alternative care in Tijuana, Mexico.

Tragically, Ben succumbed to acute kidney and liver failure on November 14, 2020. The widow found herself engulfed in grief, mourning the future they had planned together. Initially resigning to a life of celibacy, she wondered if love would ever find her again.

In the midst of a lonely winter, a trip to Lisbon with a friend sparked a desire for connection. She downloaded a dating app, leading to a fateful meeting with a Portuguese man named Manu. Despite her hesitation about revealing her past, Manu embraced her journey and sparked a connection that felt like a second chance at love.

As the widow navigated a complex path of grief, therapy, and inner work, she realised that there’s no set timeline for dating after the death of a partner. Love can coexist, and the capacity for it knows no bounds. While she initially hesitated to share her new love openly, she now feels deserving of this second chance at happiness. Embracing life without guilt, she believes that honouring the past involves finding joy in the present.

The widow is confident that Ben would want her to find happiness again, and she believes he would approve of her newfound love with Manu.