Internet Backs Man Telling Wife He'd Date Again If She Died: 'Life Goes On'

A man has left his wife despondent after admitting he would date again if she died.

But despite being branded a "scumbag" by his sister-in-law, it would appear the internet is fully behind the soon-to-be-ex-husband's interpretation of "till death do us part."

In a post shared to Reddit's "Today, I F***ed Up" subreddit, the under-fire husband detailed the sorry turn of events that led to him earning an extended stay in the doghouse.

It all began during a frank discussion with Pam, his partner of "over 10 years," about their mutual friend Kevin, who recently began dating again three years after his wife passed away.

During the chat Pam expressed her disappointment at Kevin for "dating again so soon" and accused him of "disrespecting his wife's memory by moving on to someone else."

Responding to her criticism, the husband said that "everyone processes the loss of a partner differently" and he saw "no problem" with Kevin moving on as his wife would surely "want him to be happy again."

Pam was "shocked" by his response and decided to ask the million dollar question: What would he do if anything ever happened to her?

The husband said he initially refused to "give a definitive answer" but she continued to probe, demanding to know if he would date again or even remarry.

Pushed to give a response, the man decided to offer up an answer—and almost immediately regretted doing so. "Probably," he told her. "I love you to death and would be heartbroken if you died, but life goes on. I can't stop living my life just because you're gone."

At this point, he recalled his wife looking "drained" and asking: "Am I really that easy to get over?" The husband tried to clarify what he meant, telling her "I'll always have a special place in my heart for you" before adding "but that doesn't mean I can't love anyone else."

Though the man insisted he would want his wife to "move on too" if he died, this explanation was met with stony silence. Three days later and with Pam "still depressed" over his comments, he received a call from his sister-in-law lambasting him for his remarks and telling him he should have "kept that to myself."

He said Pam still won't speak to him and "everything is really tense" between them with Pam "convinced" he is not in love with her and simply waiting for her to die.

While his relationship hangs in the balance, the man can take solace from the fact that, for the most part, people from across Reddit backed his stance on the issue.

At the time of writing, the Reddit post had been upvoted over 20,000 times with over 4,000 comments coming from fellow users who believed in the healing power of moving on with a new relationship after the loss of a loved one.

"I'd say 3 years is more than a reasonable amount of time to start dating again," TokeToday wrote. "It sounds to me like your wife is very insecure and may have some trust issues...Would she want you to be lonely/alone for the rest of your life?"

TCGislife added: "It's absurd to expect your spouse to stay single after you've died. You answered her question and she kept pushing. Your wife sounds exhausting".

A woman, posting as Lonedandelion, commented: "She doesn't care about your happiness as much as she cares about herself." She added: "If I die before my husband, I definitely want him to find love again. I don't want him to spend the rest of his life feeling lonely out of fear of "disrespecting my memory". I'll be dead. What do I care?"

Kilikiss held nothing back in their response writing: "I honestly can't begin to fathom the level of emotional immaturity that would cause you to react in this way to the idea of your loved one moving on after you passed. Would his wife prefer that he spends the rest of his life in anguish and is never able to find love again? How incredibly selfish."

The most powerful reply came from oo-mox-83 who said: "My mom was dying from cancer, had just been put in hospice, and wasn't conscious much. One of the last things she said to my dad was that she wanted him to be happy and hoped he would find someone who loved him as much as she did."

They added: "We were all happy when he married my stepmother... It's healthy to move on. He will always love my mom.... It would have crushed us all if my dad had just lived alone and miserable the rest of his life."

Earlier this month, a stepdad earned the ire of the internet after making a series of "horrible" comments to his wife's kids at their father's funeral.

A mom also sparked outrage on Reddit after selling her son's bed online in response to him refusing to tidy his room.