This backlash is all too common. There is still an outdated idea that widows should have a long, formal mourning period, even though there is no single correct or certain timeline about how a grieving person should date or find love again.

“Society thinks you shouldn’t do anything for a year. You’re supposed to mourn a full season of cycles,” grief counselor Jill Cohen told HuffPost. “What’s important to remember is that we never know what’s behind the story” of why people do or don’t want to have sex and find love again after loss, she said…

Widows also face more stigma than widowers for dating and repartnering after their partner dies.

“Men get a little bit more leeway in moving forward quickly,” Coyle said. People give men more grace if they find a new partner soon after their loss because they believe “he needs a wife,” Cohen said…