Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg is engaged.
Sandberg, who is the social network’s chief operating officer and author of “Lean In,” is engaged to Tom Bernthal, co-founder of Kelton Global, a consulting and market research firm.
Sandberg, 50, and Bernthal, 46, were set up in spring 2019 by Rob Goldberg, the brother of her late husband Dave Goldberg, People magazine reported. He died suddenly in 2015 at the age of 47 when the couple were on vacation in Mexico.
Both have children from their previous marriage and the couple connected over parenting, Rob Goldberg told People magazine. “They both see the world in the same way. Their kids are No. 1,” he told People. “They are blending their families and their lives and that’s a testament to how in love they are. They’re building a future going forward together.”
Bernthal, whose brother is Jon Bernthal (“The Punisher” and “The Walking Dead”), and Sandberg made their dating public last year at a Garth Brooks concert in Idaho, which People reported on at the time.
Sandberg and Bernthal got engaged Saturday and she posted the relationship update on Facebook and Instagram on Monday. “Engaged!!! Tom Bernthal, you are my everything. I could not love you more,” her post read.
Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg was among the first to wish them well, posting, “Congrats! You’re wonderful for each other and I’m so happy for both of you.
The engagement comes about five years after the death of her husband, who was the CEO of SurveyMonkey. In the book, “Lean In,” Sandberg stressed how important “a loving and supportive partner can be for women both professionally and personally — and how important Dave was to my career and to our children’s development,” she said in a Facebook post four years ago.
Subsequently, Sandberg said she learned the challenges of being a single mom in the workplace – a topic some had criticized her for not addressing in the book. “Some people felt that I did not spend enough time writing about the difficulties women face when they have an unsupportive partner or no partner at all. They were right,” she wrote at the time.
Gallery: Sheryl Sandberg through the years
Last year, on the anniversary of her late husband’s death, she posted a remembrance on Instagram. “I’m celebrating him today for all he taught me, the two amazing children he gave me, and our love which endures to this day,” she posted. “My prayers go to everyone who is living an Option B. May you find comfort in memories and joy in the present. #OptionB.”
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15 years ago today I had the honor and privilege of marrying Dave. And while we can’t be together to mark our anniversary, I'm celebrating him today for all he taught me, the two amazing children he gave me, and our love which endures to this day. My prayers go to everyone who is living an Option B. May you find comfort in memories and joy in the present. #OptionB
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Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.
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