BBC Information, West Midlands

“I do not know anybody else my age that’s married… by no means thoughts married and widowed.”
Rising up in Birmingham, Tania Pomroy moved to Coventry to review at college. When she arrived at her scholar halls, she had no concept the lady within the subsequent room, Charlotte Thomas, would sooner or later change into her spouse.
They married on 23 September 2023, precisely six years after the day they met.
However 5 months later, in February 2024, Charlotte died, leaving Tania a widow at 24.
“I really feel such as you by no means actually come throughout many younger widows so I felt actually remoted firstly,” she stated.
Tania had by no means skilled grief on this approach earlier than and stated she felt like her reminiscence from that point had been wiped.
“On the very begin I used to be sort of simply happening autopilot after which you will have all of the secondary losses of relationships with different folks,” she stated.
“I needed to depart my job ultimately too.
“While you lose your individual it is not simply the person who you lose, it is your self and all the pieces that makes you, you, within the course of.”

However there was a small mild at midnight for her – making movies and posting them on-line.
She began making YouTube movies in 2020 and, after the launch of TikTok, started posting comparable content material there.
Within the weeks after Charlotte handed away, she posted a video sharing the information, with footage of them of their marriage ceremony clothes.
Thus far, it has had greater than 7.8 million views.
“I feel for me it was virtually on the time the one a part of my life that was sort of regular… I am guessing that is why I picked up the digital camera and carried on doing that,” Tania stated.
“I do bear in mind seeing the response to it and being like: ‘Oh my gosh, have a look at all these feedback coming in’.
“I solely actually posted it for family and friends… solely had just a few thousand followers.”

Over the following yr, Tania continued to put up on the app, shifting a lot of her content material to sharing her grief and speaking about her psychological well being.
Her followers grew and he or she stated many associated to her expertise.
“I’ve constructed somewhat neighborhood of fellow grievers over there that I really discover so healthful in a approach,” she stated.
“It really reveals you that you simply’re not alone; there are different folks on the market which are 24 years outdated and widowed, it is not simply you.”
She added the assist had helped her massively together with her grieving journey.
“I used to be welcomed in with such open arms and it is so good now that I’ve created an area the place I can welcome different folks in with open arms,” she stated.
“If something optimistic has come out of this, then that is positively a type of issues.”

Greater than a yr since her spouse died, Tania, now 25, began incorporating her hobbies and pursuits into her content material for her almost 200,000 followers.
She went backpacking in Thailand in January – a visit which Charlotte needed to do.
“She could be so shocked that I’ve finished it… however she would even be actually proud that I am getting on the market and seeing the world and hopefully sharing somewhat little bit of it together with her… we will have a lot to atone for,” she stated.
Tania stated posting about Charlotte helped preserve her reminiscence alive.
“I at all times known as her my sunshine as a result of she was simply the warmest individual and he or she had the kindest coronary heart; she was so adventurous and he or she made life so enjoyable and thrilling and made you content to stay,” she added.
Trying forward, she stated she needed to boost consciousness about grief and psychological well being in addition to share her life.
“A widow is a widow, it does not matter whether or not you are 25 otherwise you’re 75,” she stated.
“Everybody goes to expertise grief in some unspecified time in the future, so if we speak about it extra and it is somewhat bit much less taboo, then we’ll realise that we’re all going to be in the identical boat, and we might help and assist one another.”
- When you have been affected by any of the problems raised on this story, data and assist could be discovered on the BBC’s Action Line.