How long it takes to feel ready to think about dating again is something we would rather ask about than assume. There is no correct answer to it, and no timetable that anyone is obliged to keep to, which is exactly why it is worth putting to people who have lived it instead of guessing at it.
The question
When did you first feel ready to think about dating again?
- Less than a year after loss
- One to two years
- Two to four years
- Five or more years
- Still not sure I'm ready
These are the answer options, not results.
There is no correct timeline
Pressure about timing can come from people who mean well, and it can come from a wider culture that treats grief as a phase to get through instead of something you live alongside.
None of that is yours to carry here. Eight months is not too soon and eight years is not too late, and if you are unsure whether you want to message anyone at all, that is a reasonable place to be.
Creating a profile and browsing other members is free and needs no card, so you can read profiles for as long as you like before contacting anyone.
What will be published with the results
Any results published here will carry the sample size, the dates the survey ran and the exact wording used. They will also say plainly that anyone answering has chosen to join a dating site for bereaved people, so the figures will describe this community and not bereavement in general.
Correction, 8 August. An earlier version of this page showed five response bands as a bar chart, described one band as the largest group, and drew conclusions from the spread. It also carried a quoted member reflection and a signed personal note. No survey had been run and no members had been asked, so the chart, the conclusions, the quotation and the note have been removed.