The 50-year-old Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg got engaged to the love of her life Tom Bernthal. The engagement comes five years after the sudden death of her husband, David Goldberg.
Sandberg, Facebook's number two executive, revealed her new relationship status on Instagram. Accompanied by a black and white picture of the newly engaged couple, she wrote: "Engaged!!! Tom Bernthal, you are my everything. I could not love you more."
The couple relived their 'first date' on engagement day
Sandberg, who turns 51 in August, was introduced to Tom Bernthal, co-founder and CEO of strategic consultancy Kelton Global, by her late husband's brother Rob Goldberg, a year ago. According to People Magazine, the couple went on a hike on their first date. On February 1, the couple recreated their first date by taking a mountain hike to Vermejo Park Ranch on the New Mexico-Colorado border, where they had lunch later.
It was then the 46-year-old divorcee Bernthal proposed to Sandberg and she said yes. Symbolically representing their five children, Bernthal has three kids while Sandberg has two kids, Bernthal placed five diamonds hidden below the setting in the engagement ring.
In his reply to the post, Bernthal wrote on Monday: "I love you so much and couldn't be more excited about spending the rest of our lives together.' Sandberg dated Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activation Blizzard, for three years before she met Bernthal.
Sandberg believes 'dating' is part of moving on
Author of Lean In, Sandberg lost her husband Goldberg, the chief executive of online polling firm SurveyMonkey after he suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed suddenly on a treadmill during their family vacation in Mexico, in 2015. Sandberg and Goldberg were married for 11 years before they were separated by his sudden death.
During an interview with The Guardian, Sandberg, who penned a book Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy, in 2017, said: "Women get judged much more harshly than men for dating after the loss of their spouse. I think I'm helping people remember that dating, for those who want to do it, is part of moving forward, and it is option B."
Sandberg who found her husband lying in a pool of blood after he collapsed said: "We found Dave on the floor, lying by the elliptical machine, his face slightly blue and turned to the left, a small pool of blood under his head. We all screamed. I started CPR. Rob took over from me. A doctor came and took over from him."
In her book, she recalled the day of the funeral and how the kids wailing collapsed while she held on to them during the ceremony.
