More common? Maybe.
I’d say that men, particularly older men, are more likely to get lonely and reach out for a connection to another woman. This is especially true if their late spouse “took care of them” as many older women tend to do for their husbands – cooking, cleaning, paying bills, reminding him to take his medication, etc.
I think women who do these things for their husbands will either become more liberated being single after his death or will feel an empty spot now that she has no one to nurture. I don’t think as many men would enjoy the independence as much.
I’d imagine living alone after so many years of marriage without someone to talk to would be very lonely. My grandma lost her husband about 7 years ago and said she’d never marry again. She enjoyed the freedom and not having to take care of a man anymore. She got breast cancer a couple of years ago, had a mastectomy and chemo, and beat it. Afterward, a switch seemed to go off and I knew she was lonely. She met a man who’s wife died 6 months prior and he fancied my grandma quite a bit – brought her gifts, visited her, etc. He had taken care of his wife, who had Alzheimer’s, for 10 years and after she died, he went into a depression and lost so much weight that his daughter thought he would die as well. After he and my grandma connected, he completely changed his tune. Fast forward a few months – they got married a few weeks ago and are both much happier. They say loneliness can kill a person, which is perhaps why many elderly people get sick and die shortly after their spouse goes.
And if the man in question is 60+, I doubt he’s thinking much about inseminating anyone. Sometimes it’s not even about sex, it’s about companionship.