Widower of 'Marry My Husband' Author Speaks Out a Year Later

It's been more than a year since author Amy Krouse Rosenthal died of ovarian cancer shortly after writing a viral essay in which she encouraged readers to consider marrying husband Jason after her passing. Now Jason Rosenthal is speaking out, in a TED talk he gave at the TED 2018 conference as well as an interview with Today. Asked whether he'll remarry, he said, "I have no idea. I don’t know." But he says several women did reach out after reading his late wife's column. "A group of women reached out to me and professed their commitment," he told Today, per People. "Some of it provided a nice bit of levity and some humor." He says one of the women even promised to outlive him.

As for the TED talk, Rosenthal recounted his grief and said he's learning to smile again after losing his partner of 26 years, Today reports. His father also died just four months after Amy, leading him to wonder, "How much can the human condition handle? What makes us capable of dealing with this intense loss and yet carry on? Was this a test? Why my family and my amazing children?" But Amy had made it clear to the world at large that he needed to persevere. "Because Amy gave me very public permission to also find happiness, I now have experienced joy from time to time," he said in the talk. (More romance stories.)