I’m married to a man who lost his wife. He has two children from that marriage. I know it is very difficult to try to understand as the child of a parent who has moved on when you aren’t quite ready for that. Something that might be helpful is that there is research in this area that indicates that people who were happily married and loved their spouses a great deal are much more likely to get into a new relationship, and to do so sooner, than those who were in an unhappy marriage. Knowing how wonderful their relationship was, and how fulfilling that was for them, causes them to want to have a new relationship… it is almost out of respect for the one they lost, as strange as that sounds to people on the outside of this. This is especially true for widowed men… unlike women, who will tend to talk about their innermost feelings with several friends and relatives, men tend to only talk about that kind of stuff with their wives, and they need to have that one person in their life who they can talk about their emotions with. I know you want your remaining parent to be happy, but it is also full of conflict for you, as it may appear that this is somehow disrespectful to the memory of the parent you lost. From my perspective, my relationship with my husband is very close, open, and honest, in large part, because of how much he loved and continues to love his late wife. I had a very rocky start with his children, because they were not ready to have a new woman in their dad’s life, but that does get better over time, and now, we are able to have conversations like normal friends would. I’m not trying, and don’t want to be their replacement mother… they had a wonderful mother and they don’t need a new one. Maybe just trying to get to know the new person for who they are, but not feel like you have to welcome them in as a new family member will help. Your parents chose each other… people’s taste in others doesn’t tend to change much. If the parent you lost was a good person, it is very likely that the new person your remaining parent chose is also a good person, even if that is very difficult for you to see at this time. There is no timeline on these things… you’ll get there when you are ready, but be careful not to set up walls to try to completely avoid this either… you still need to maintain a relationship with your remaining parent, and be open about your feelings without attacking the fact that a new relationship exists.