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A widow has revealed how she found love again in someone who had been there all along, as she says she and her late husband’s best friends are ‘soul mates’.
Susan Mounce, 69, of Hewitt, Texas, was married to her high school sweetheart, Tom Lucenay, for four decades. But when Tom died suddenly in 2015 at the age of 64, she was heartbroken and fought to recover.
She spent six weeks traveling around the world and learning about herself, and she was ready to open up to love again.
Despite being on dating apps, Susan found true love with Tom’s best friend Mike, 71. And although the two had been close friends for 50 years, after Tom’s death, they began to see each other differently and eventually fell in love.
Susan Mounce, of Hewitt, Texas, has revealed how she found love again in someone who had been there all along, with her late husband’s best friends, Mike (pictured).
Susan was married to her high school sweetheart Tom (pictured with Susan in high school) for four decades.
They were married for four decades and had three children together before Tom passed away (Tom pictured with his three daughters)
Despite being on dating apps, Susan found true love with Tom’s best friend, Mike.
speaking to TodaySusan and Mike revealed how their journey led them to each other.
After Tom passed away, Susan decided to focus on creating a new “chapter” of her life and decided to travel the world to find a new sense of independence.
When she returned, her daughter Bridget encouraged her to join the dating apps and open her heart to love again.
She created a dating profile, but was still concentrating on keeping Tom’s memory alive. However, when a sweet DIY project Tom had spent so much time working on was destroyed, Susan was once again ‘heartbroken’.
Susan and Tom lived in a family home in Texas with their three children.
From the day they moved into the house, Tom worked to build a pond for the children to play in.
The pond became a “memorial” to Tom after his death, but when Susan returned from traveling the world and realized the pond was gone, she turned to Mike for help.
Mike had been Tom’s lifelong best friend. He himself had been married and divorced twice, but he had been at Tom and Susan’s wedding a long time ago.
After Tom passed away, Susan decided to focus on creating a new “chapter” of her life and decided to travel the world to find a new sense of independence (Susan, Tom, and their three children pictured)
When she returned, her daughter Bridget encouraged her to join the dating apps and open her heart to love.
He created a dating profile, but was still focused on keeping Tom’s memory alive (Tom and Mike photographed as teenagers)
When the pond that her children loved to play in and that Tom built was destroyed, she called on Mike to help her.
When Mike received a phone call from Susan begging him to help her rebuild the pond, he rushed to the rescue.
Tom attended Robinson High School graduating in 1969 and joining the Texas National Guard in 1969 and served in the Army Airborne National Guard in the 143D Infantry that same year.
He was honorably discharged in 1975, according to his obituary.
Just three years after graduating, Tom and Susan got married. Tom graduated from Baylor and later became a firefighter.
Susan and Tom spent a loving 43 years together before Tom passed away, and though his death was tragic, it brought Mike and Susan together.
When Mike received a phone call from Susan begging him to help her rebuild the pond, he rushed to the rescue.
After fixing the pond, Mike and Susan grew closer and soon spent ‘three or four hours’ talking to each other.
Soon enough, Mike saw Susan in a new light and referred to her as the “most beautiful woman” he had ever seen.
After fixing the pond, Mike and Susan (pictured traveling) grew closer and soon spent ‘three or four hours’ talking to each other.
And even though they were crazy about each other, they never forgot the person who brought them together (Susan and Tom pictured on their wedding day)
And though they once only saw each other as ‘best friends’, their point of view soon changed.
Soon enough, Mike saw Susan in a new light and referred to her as the “most beautiful woman” he had ever seen.
“It’s like we’re meeting again and I’m seeing her differently,” Mike told Today.
And Susan felt exactly the same way.
The two began dating and quickly became inseparable.
And although they were in love with each other, they never forgot the person who brought them together.
“We’re never apart from Tom, he’s always in the room,” Mike said of his longtime friend.
In February 2020, Susan and Mike tied the knot with their friends and family around them.
And their love was not only clear to them, their entire family couldn’t help but notice how in love they were.
The lovebirds couldn’t believe they found love after so much pain, as Mike revealed that he and Susan ‘complete’ each other, before adding that his new wife ‘cured’ him.
And their love was not only clear to them, their entire family couldn’t help but notice how in love they were.
Chelsea Jefferson, Mike’s daughter, was overjoyed when Susan and Mike began a romance with each other.
She was relieved that her father could get a “second chance at life” and “enjoy” again.
In February 2020, Susan and Mike got married surrounded by friends and family.
The lovebirds couldn’t believe they found love after so much pain, as Mike revealed that he and Susan ‘completed’ each other, before adding that his new wife ‘cured’ him.
Referring to each other as their ‘soul mate’ while holding hands, Susan and Mike explained that they have found a kind of ‘joy’ that is ‘beyond happiness’ within each other.