The Accident
The former Disney star, Tiffany Thorton, whose first husband, Chris Carney, died in a car accident in 2015 recently got remarried.
She married new love Josiah Capaci in a ceremony she shared on Instagram on Sunday saying it was the “Best day of my life.”
The ceremony came less than two years after Thornton’s first husband, Christopher Carney, was killed in a car crash in Arkansas on Dec. 4, 2015. He was 35.
Married With Kids
Carney was in a vehicle with his friend, 37-year-old Ezekiel Blanton, when Blanton swerved and hit a tree. Blanton also died in the crash.
Thornton married Carney, who starred on the MTV reality series "twentyfourseven," in 2011.
Who Was Christopher Carney?
She and Carney had been married for about four years and shared two sons.
Chris starred in an MTV reality show before marrying actress Tiffany Thornton. He married his girlfriend of two years Tiffany Thornton following a 22-month-long engagement.
Unsupportive Social Media
Carney sang in the band Prom Kings, which formed in the mid-2000s in Los Angeles. It led to the short-lived MTV reality show "twentyfourseven," which followed Carney and his brother in their pursuit of an entertainment career.
Support From Chris's Family
Floods of commenters on her social media accounts appear to be supportive and congratulatory, some have called Thornton out for being disloyal, according to a long follow-up post she added in defense of her recent marriage.
As Chris watched down on them, Tiffany knew that Chris would have loved the choice she made, for her and the boys. Chris's parents sat in the front row and are happy for the boys and Tiffany.
Who Is Josiah Capaci?
They blessed the marriage and could see how much the boys already love Josiah.
Tiffany is a devout Christian and works as a recruitment advisor for Champion Christian College.
Her Defense Statement
Josiah is a worship leader in Arkansas.
On Instagram she posted: “This. This is love. That all encompassing, enduring, accepting, near perfect love.
Her Defense Continued
The kind that trumps my need to snap back at people who have the audacity to comment on my Instagram about whether I loved my first husband or not. But let me take a moment to explain something to you,” she wrote. “There is no timeline for grief or for when God moves in your life in undeniable ways.”
She continued to explain that just because she said that Jo is the greatest thing to happen to her, she isnt saying she didn't love her first husband. She says that she will always love chris and jo knows that.
Disney Roles
She closes with "The beautiful thing about love is that it multiplies as new blessings come into your life".
Thornton is known for her roles on Sonny With a Chance and So Random!. She announced her engagement to Capaci, a Gospel Light Church worship pastor, back in August.
25 Months After Death
While her move into a new relationship after such a traumatic loss of her husband likely required some emotional work, it’s definitely not out of the norm.
By 25 months after a spouse’s death, 61 percent of men and 19 percent of women were either remarried or involved in a new romance, according to a 1996 study.
Criticism
Of course this is out of date, but it was consistent with even older findings.
Some people just can’t help but criticize when a survivor moves into another relationship.
Social Media Backlash
A high profile controversy erupted when, for example, Sheryl Sandberg began dating Bobby Kotick, of Activision video games, about 10 months after the sudden death of her husband Dave Goldberg, whose death inspired a raw and public expression of grief from the Facebook COO.
The social media backlash to Sandberg’s new relationship was nothing but nasty. The same happened when comedian and actor Patton Oswalt announced plans to remarry a year and a half after his wife, Michelle McNamara, died suddenly in her sleep.
What Does A Phsychologist Say?
Online trolls often come out in full force shoving their opinions in the faces of people they dont know anything about.
Connecticut-based psychologist Barbara Greenberg agrees that it’s no one else’s place to say when it’s appropriate to embrace new love.
Feeling Of Guilt
She notes that “people can have a very hard time celebrating other people’s joys.” "There’s no timeline" she adds.
Regarding feelings of guilt that a surviving spouse may struggle with as they move toward a new marriage or relationship, the individual must stay grounded in their own beliefs that this is right.