Tears at Man’s Two-Word Response to Young Widow With Baby and Toddler

An Instagram reel has captured the internet’s attention after a woman shared an emotional moment with her new husband.

The video, posted by Whitney Lyn Allen Gadecki, 38, features a simple yet moving exchange: she captioned the video with, “but I am a widow and have a baby and a toddler,” to which her husband responded: “I know.” Since the reel was posted, it has received over 44,000 likes. Gadecki spoke to Newsweek about her journey of grief and parenting, and how she found love in the process.

When Gadecki lost her first husband, Ryan, she was left to raise their two young sons alone.

Ryan had fully embraced fatherhood despite challenges from his own upbringing, Gadecki said.

“Ryan was such an incredible father. He was the ‘fun’ parent as I like to call him,” she said. “Ryan loved to take Jackson to do errands. They played in the yard together. They were constantly laughing and having a good time together. They had their special rituals and things that they did, like get McDonald’s after they got haircuts. They were two peas in a pod.”

Seeing Ryan parent her son Jackson was one of the “greatest privileges” of her life, she said. “I truly think it healed a part of Ryan to be able to be a dad like he was and feel the immense love for Jackson that he did.”

Another love, another father figure

After Ryan’s passing, Gadecki eventually met Anthony, who stepped into the role of fatherhood for her sons.

“Since the day that Anthony met my two boys, he has truly felt responsible for them and cared for them deeply,” Gadecki said. “He wants the boys to grow up to be good men, just like Ryan did, and he is amazing with teaching them how to behave, how to be kind, how to work hard, how to be polite, how to be confident.”

She said Anthony’s presence has changed their family’s dynamic, bringing a stability and “groundedness” to their lives.

Reflecting on her journey, Gadecki shared insights on love and resilience: “I feel like this experience has taught me that our capacity as humans to love and be loved is infinite,” she said. “I hold space for the love I have for my husband, Ryan, in heaven. I hold so much gratitude for the life we shared together, and I also hold so much love for my new husband, Anthony, and the love and life that we are building together in the present.”

As for blending families, Gadecki acknowledged both the beauty and the complexity of navigating new loves.

“There will be those that don’t agree, but at the end of the day, life is painfully short and fragile, and you need to do what feels right to you, your heart and your grief,” she said. “Becoming a family with Anthony and Anthony adopting my two babies has been one of the biggest blessings I have ever experienced and I am so grateful that he chose us and that we chose him.”

Looking back on her wedding day to Anthony—which happened in January of this year—Gadecki described it as a moment of peace and celebration.

“Our wedding day truly captured the significance of second chances and new beginnings which was really magical,” she said. “Our wedding truly was a symbol for what we have felt for so long and that is that we are a family.”