Widow Thinks She's Found New Love 2 Years after Husband's Death, Sends Men $430,000 in 8 Years

After elderly Alabama widow Dr. Bonnie Libhart lost her husband, she wanted to find love again and possibly get married. She met multiple men who promised to fill that void in her life; however, she soon discovered everything was not as it seemed.

Losing a longtime partner is a challenging thing for one to deal with. It is even more difficult for older people who have spent many years with a partner.

When two people have developed a routine, and someone suddenly dies, it is sometimes challenging for the other to adjust to the new reality and deal with the loneliness.

Finding a new lover who could soothe that yearning to be loved is what most people resort to; this is what an Alabama widow tried to do. But, sadly, she got more than what she bargained for.

ALABAMA WIDOW SEEKS COMPANION ONLINE

Two years after Dr. Bonnie Libhart of Huntsville, Alabama, had lost her husband, she wanted to find love and marry again. Living her life alone, especially after she had shared the past ones with her late husband, became a strange concept to her, and she wanted to find romance.

Libhart turned to social in hopes of finding someone with whom she could spend the rest of her life. She quickly developed virtual relationships with men who made marriage plans with her.

Libhart and these men also exchanged pictures regularly with plans of having a life together. However, months into their relationship, these men started asking Libhart to send them some money.

Since they lived abroad, she could not meet them physically; however, Libhart had connected well with these men, and she felt it was the least she could do. Over eight years, Libhart met three different men on social media, and they all requested financial help from her.

The widow, who had $430,000 in her account when these relationships started, sent all her money to these men, hoping one day they would come and probably get married to her. Sadly, after eight years of sending money to her online lovers, Libhart recently discovered these men had been lying to her.

LIBHART SPEAKS OUT

After Libhart discovered she had lost all her money to online lovers who lied to her, she spoke about her experience to local news station WAFF.

The widow explained that when these relationships started and she was sending money, one of her friends warned her, but she was convinced these men were real. She noted:

"One of my friends said, I think you're being scammed."

However, Libhart did not heed this warning since she believed the men she met were good Christians. She and these men frequently talked about the Lord and even prayed together.

She kept sending more money to these men even after she exhausted the $430,000 in her bank account. According to Libhart, she had about $650,000 on her house, but she got a reverse mortgage and spent all her money on these men.

She even got a call from her bank as they were concerned about where she was sending all her money. Sadly, Libhart did not heed all these warnings or signs, and she continued sending more money. "I had no clue. I believed them. I wanted to get married again." She declared.

LIBHART HAS LEARNED HER LESSON

Thankfully after discovering these men had been lying to her, Libhart stopped sending them money. She discovered that one man who was expecting her to send him money the week even texted her during the interview with WAFF. He wrote:

" I'm sorry, my love, for not texting you."

After discovering the scheme, Libhart declared she would no longer fall for it. "I am not going to do that anymore. If God doesn't show me a man at church or somewhere with Christians…." Libhart proclaimed.

Being naively in love can have negative consequences, so it is always worth being cautious, especially for lonely, older women. "Trust, but verify," so says the folk wisdom.

Questions to Ponder

• Was it right for Libhart to send so much money to people she had never met?

Libhart took so much risk by emptying her bank account for people who only promised her love over the internet. She should have noticed something was amiss when these men continued to request more money from her.

• Is it better to be alone after losing a husband, or should one try to find love at an elderly age?

People deal with the loss of a partner differently. While some would not want to get married again, others want to get hooked again because they cannot deal with the loneliness.

Sadly, Libhart's story is one of many similar people who have met online lovers who parted them with their money based on lies.