In the days before she died, Jason's wife wrote him a dating profile. Now, he's found love.

In 2017, Jason Rosenthal became one of the most famous widowers in the United States.

“I was just doing my thing,” the formerly anonymous lawyer told The Washington Post. “A kid from Chicago. If you Googled me, you wouldn’t find anything.”

Then on Valentine’s Day, while in the final stages of ovarian cancer, Jason’s wife, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, wrote a love letter to him.

But it was far more than just a love letter.

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In fact, Amy’s now-viral essay, ‘You May Want to Marry My Husband’, which was published in the New York Times’ Modern Love column, was also a personal advertisement of sorts.

In the letter, Amy wrote how she fell in love with Jason in a single day, reflecting on their 26-year marriage, and the time spent with their three children.

“I want more time with Jason,” she wrote, in the letter that was read by millions.

“I want more time with my children. I want more time sipping martinis at the Green Mill Jazz Club on Thursday nights. But that is not going to happen. I probably have only a few days left being a person on this planet.”

But the children’s author and radio show host also used the column for another purpose – to seek Jason’s second wife.

It was almost written like a dating profile.

“He’s an easy man to fall in love with,” Amy wrote. “I did it in one day.”

“Did I mention he’s incredibly handsome?” she added, after detailing how her husband still presented her with “gum balls” whenever he emerged from the petrol station.

Ten days after Amy’s column was published, the 51-year-old died on March 13, 2o17.

And suddenly, Jason’s life changed in more ways that he ever could have imagined.

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Amid dealing with his own loss and comforting the couple’s three children – who are now 27, 25, and 23 years old – Jason was suddenly looked to for advice when it came to grief and loss.

In 2018, Jason presented a TED Talk, titled: ‘The journey through loss and grief’. The talk catapulted his career in the public speaking space.

“Amy gave me permission to move forward, and I’m so grateful for that,” the 55-year-old said within the TED Talk.

In that same year, the Chicago lawyer and real estate developer wrote a response to his late wife’s New York Times column.

“I want more time with Amy,” he wrote in his column, which was published in June 2018.

“I want more time picnicking and listening to music at Millennium Park. I want more Shabbat dinners with the five of us Rosies (as we Rosenthals are referred to by our family),” he added.

“One thing I have come to understand, though, is what a gift Amy gave me by emphasising that I had a long life to fill with joy, happiness and love. Her edict to fill my own empty space with a new story has given me permission to make the most out of my remaining time on this planet.”

Now, Jason Rosenthal is set to release his memoir this week, titled My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me.

 

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A post shared by Jason B Rosenthal (@jasonbrosenthal) on Apr 14, 2020 at 1:54pm PDT

Since Amy’s death, Jason’s career and personal life has changed dramatically. He has moved to practicing law part time, and has since picked up even more public speaking opportunities around the topics of grief and loss. (Within the two years after Amy died, Jason lost his father-in-law and his father.)

“Amy gave me this new voice that maybe was in me, but I didn’t know,” Jason told People this week.

The 55-year-old has also established a foundation in his late wife’s name, and sold the rights to both Amy’s column and her memoir, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, to Hollywood. At this point, there’s no director attached to the project.

Since Amy’s New York Times column was published in 2017, Jason has received letters and emails from more than 300 women, who took Amy up on her proposal.

“There were bunches of these envelopes decorated with stickers, almost as if they were [from] young girls,” Jason recalled, speaking to The Washington Post.

“I was insularly focused on my kids and my family, and so overwhelmed with grief, I didn’t appreciate and understand the attention,” he added.

“It wasn’t until later, looking at all the objects and art and emails and letters that people sent me that I realised the world was grieving with me.”

Now, in the final chapter of his new memoir, Jason has shared that he has since found love.

 

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Remembering Amy ????. #moreforakr #letsdomore #amykrouserosenthal **********************************************#ovariancancer #ovariancancerawareness #ovariancancerresearch #booksforkids #childliteracy

A post shared by Amy KR Foundation (@akrfoundation) on Mar 13, 2020 at 5:26am PDT

Although the woman isn’t named in the final pages of his memoir, Jason told People that he is dating Claire, a 46-year-old health and wellness professional from Chicago.

“After we’d spent some time together, I knew there was something special about this woman. The companionship, her companionship, felt so good,” he writes in his memoir, according to People.

“Even then, when she and I started going out in public, I was still apprehensive about being judged for enjoying myself with a woman who wasn’t Amy.”

In an article written for CBS News this week, Jason reflected on his life after loss.

“Amy wanted me to fill that blank space now part of my life,” he wrote.

“She wanted me to find joyful moments, seek meaning in this complex life we live in, and discover love with someone else,” he continued.

“It took me years to come to that realisation; I learned that grief has no timetable.”

Feature Image: YouTube.

For more on this topic:

• Terminally ill author, who wrote a dating profile for her husband, dies aged 51.
• Amy is dying, so she penned a dating profile for her husband.
• Husband of dying author Amy Krouse Rosenthal responds to her ‘dating profile’ love letter.

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