Dating After Bereavement: When Is the Right Time?
Thinking about dating after losing your partner? There is no set timescale. How to recognise when you might be ready, what to expect, and how to take the first gentle steps.
After loss
Dating after bereavement
Grief, guilt, readiness and finding companionship again after losing a partner, at your own pace.
Start here: Dating After Bereavement: When Is the Right Time?11 guides
Topic: Dating after bereavement
Grief, guilt, readiness and finding companionship again after losing a partner, at your own pace.
Lonely or Ready? Dating After Loss and Loneliness
How to tell whether you’re lonely or ready to date again, how loneliness affects dating choices, whether dating helps, and practical ways to meet your need for connection.
Wedding Rings, Photos and Belongings When You Start Dating Again After Loss
What to do with your wedding ring, photos of your late partner, their belongings, your home, social media and memorials when you start dating again after bereavement.
Talking About Your Late Partner on Early Dates: When and How Much
When to tell a date you’re widowed, how much to say about your late partner on a first date and afterwards, handling emotions and questions, and what to put on your dating profile.
When Grief Returns During a New Relationship
Grief can come flooding back during a new relationship, even years after a loss. Why it happens, what it looks like, whether to pause or end things, how to talk to your partner and where to get support.
Telling Friends, Family and Your Late Spouse’s Family That You’re Dating Again
How and when to tell your children, friends and your late spouse’s family that you’re dating again after bereavement: who to tell first, what to say and how to handle reactions.
When Your New Relationship Stirs Up Your Children’s Grief
Why a widowed parent’s new relationship can reawaken children’s grief, how it shows at different ages, what helps and what to avoid, and when to get specialist support.
Should Widows and Widowers Date Each Other?
Is it easier to date someone who has also lost a spouse? The real advantages, the risks, being at different stages of grief, two sets of memories and families, and how to make it work.
How Do You Stop Comparing a New Partner With Your Late Spouse?
Comparing someone new with your late husband or wife? Why it happens, whether you can love both, practical ways to ease comparisons, and when they are a sign to slow down.
Dating a Widower: What to Expect and How to Make It Work
Dating a widower? How grief affects a new relationship, signs he is ready, handling photos, anniversaries and adult children, and looking after yourself.
Feeling Guilty About Dating After Losing Your Partner
Feeling guilty about dating after your partner died is extremely common. Why it happens, what helps, and how to make room for a new relationship without letting go of the love you had.