A grieving widower from Illinois shared a heartbreaking photo of his wife, who never got to walk down the aisle in her ‘dream dress’.
John Polo, 31, from Elmwood Park, shared the image of his late wife, Michelle, on Facebook as she posed in her wedding dress at an alterations fitting.
‘That’s my wife. In her wedding dress. A wedding dress that I never got to see her in,’ he wrote in a post on August 31, which has received more than 4,000 reactions on his Facebook page Better Not Bitter Widower.
John Polo shared an image of his late wife, Michelle, on Facebook as she posed in her ‘dream wedding dress’ that she never got to walk down the aisle in (above)
John and Michelle (pictured) discovered in 2013 that Michelle had proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma, a rare cancer, and had a quick courthouse ceremony. The cancer returned three years later and would spread to her liver, lung, ovary, and tailbone. That’s when the couple planned to have a larger, second wedding in February 2016
John told PEOPLE that the couple first met in 2002 as high school students in Illinois. They dated for a year and then broke up, only to be reunited eight years later and began dating again.
In July 2013, they discovered Michelle had proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma, a rare form of cancer than kills 50 to 70 percent of patients with five years. The Polos decided to have a quick courthouse ceremony.
The cancer returned three years later and would spread to her liver, lung, ovary, and tailbone. That’s when the couple planned to have a larger, second wedding in February 2016.
Michelle didn’t want John to see her in the dress until the day of their second wedding, and he still hadn’t seen her wear it by the time she was bedridden.
She passed away on January 22, 2016, just 30 years old and two weeks away from the ceremony.
Michelle didn’t want John to see her in the dress until the day of their second wedding, and he still hadn’t seen her wear it by the time she was bedridden. She passed away on January 22, 2016, just 30 years old and two weeks away from the ceremony (pictured together)
A month after Michelle (right) died, John (left) started the blog Better Not Bitter Widower. He says writing has helped him connect with other widowers who have helped him through the grieving process
John wrote that he found the photograph a week after Michelle’s death as he laid in bed and shuffled through pictures on her phone. He had no idea the picture existed, and he felt a wave of emotion when he found it.
‘I was happy and devastated at the same time, but if I had to choose one emotion to describe how I felt when I saw it, it would be pride,’ he wrote. ‘I felt pride she was my wife.’
A month after Michelle died, John started Better Not Bitter Widower. He says writing has helped him connect with other widowers who have helped him through the grieving process.
‘The blogging, and the writing, and being a part of the widow community, has saved me,’ he told PEOPLE.
‘As I write, it heals me, but when I read the comments from people, it is more healing knowing that it is helping them. It’s extremely rewarding and humbling.’