‘Our friendship has been the most beautiful silver lining’

Nicky Wake, 54, is CEO of Chapter 2 Dating, a website for widows and widowers. She lives in Manchester with her son, Finn, 17. Walking on the beach at the end of a week in the Maldives, I looked at Natalie and was filled with gratitude and love. Wordlessly, we took the love hearts we’d written on and left them by a palm tree. That holiday in June 2024 felt a bit like a honeymoon. In reality, we’re both widows and our love hearts were for our late husbands. My husband, Andy, suffered a heart atta...