A woman has been slammed on social media after moving on from her husband's death in five months.
TikTok user Holly Smith, who goes by the handle @coach_holly_, revealed in an interview with Today that her 31-year-old partner died in April 2024 from a sudden heart attack.
Since her husband's death, the mom has continued to use the social media platform to post joyful videos about her life and children.
Last month, Smith referred to herself as the "happy widow" in a video shared on the fifth month after her late partner's passing.
This shocked many people who took to the comment section to express their outrage. "Girl 5 months is insane," one person said, while another commented: "It’s nice that you happy. You shouldn’t let his death ruin you. But this really comes off as really not caring about him at all."
The very next day, Smith published a new video in response to the negative comments, captioning it: "Your husband just died, why are you acting like everything is fine?"
The 28-year-old explained the reason why she had chosen to move on in a clip that showed her baking a cake with her children.
"Because he's not my God, because one guy dying isn't going to ruin the rest of my life," she told detractors. "One bad thing isn't going to ruin you either. What has happened that's led you to think that everything is feeling bad and dark and depression.
"You got to fix it, you got to root it out. You got to start walking toward something better," she continued. "Stop living in the past, stop living in your head, and start walking toward a better future and a better tomorrow.
"Because I promise you, if you will start looking forward to something and create a reason to wake up every day beyond just survival you will start to feel feelings of happiness and joy again," Smith concluded.
Watch the clip below:Since posting, Smith's TikTok has garnered more than 4600 comments from people sharing their thoughts on the situation.
Some viewers were quick to express concerns about how they perceived the mom coping with her grief.
"My husband died unexpectedly 4 years ago and never would I EVER refer to it as 'just one man dying'. It’s a whole life we had planned dying. I know that grief looks different for everyone but wow!" one user hit back.
Another criticized: "Losing someone you love is more than just one bad thing happening," while a third slammed: "Wow !!! This, I respectfully disagree !! The pain I’ve felt for 10 years 'just a guy'".
Meanwhile, others spoke up in support of the content creator. "This honestly is so true - of course, she missed her husband. But she knows her life isn’t over - keep going you and ur family need you," someone responded to the clip.
"Sorry people don’t understand that others grieve in different ways," a second chimed in. "Leave this mum alone making happy memories with her kids, doing her best, and dealing in her own way," another blasted at viewers.
Smith spoke about the comments she has received from the public in a follow-up interview with Today.
She assured everyone who disagrees with her approach that she feels "mentally strong," adding: "I know that the way I think is different from how other people think."
While she has "refused to grieve," she has still "mourned the loss of her husband and the nine years that we spent building a life together."
Smith revealed that her in-laws have been "very understanding" and added that faith has played in helping her overcome adversity.
"There's no way that I would be this happy and be able to be this OK in my life if there wasn't a real God in heaven," she concluded.
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