Sheryl Sandberg says adult children can help a widowed parent with a simple message

Sheryl Sandberg, Meta's former COO, lost her husband, Dave Goldberg, in 2015, when their children were 10 and 7.

She later found love again and married Tom Bernthal in 2022.

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Vanity Fair Sheryl Sandberg lost her husband in 2015 when their children were 10 and 7.

She said her son once told her not to remarry, but eventually supported her new chapter.

The former Meta COO said children can help a widowed parent through grief and loneliness in one key way.

Sheryl Sandberg said one of the most meaningful moments since she was widowed came when her son encouraged her to recreate a photo with her second husband.

On Thursday's episode of the " All There Is with Anderson Cooper " podcast, the former Meta COO spoke about losing her late husband, Dave Goldberg, in 2015.

Their children were 10 and 7 at the time.

Sandberg later found love again with Tom Bernthal , whom she married in 2022.

During the podcast, Sandberg recounted how, on a recent trip to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, she found herself grieving Goldberg because it was where they had taken one of her favorite honeymoon photos.

Her 21-year-old son, who had once told her not to remarry, urged her to take the same picture with Bernthal, saying Goldberg would have been happy she'd found him.

"That was one of the most important moments of my life, and it just happened.

And I want more people who have lost spouses to have that with their children," Sandberg told host Anderson Cooper.

Sandberg said she often tells widows and widowers two things: that things will get better, and that they can find love again if they want to.