S4 – EP7 – Finding the Funny in Grief: Comedian Sam Morrison on Losing His Partner to COVID 19

This week on Widowed AF, Rosie is joined by LA-based comedian Sam Morrison, whose life changed forever when his partner Jonathan died from Covid in 2021.

Sam is currently in London performing his critically acclaimed show Sugar Daddy, a wildly funny, deeply personal comedy about love, loss and everything that comes after. What started as grief eventually found its way onto the stage, proving that sometimes you can’t make sense of tragedy… but you can make jokes about it.

Rosie and Sam talk about meeting their partners, navigating loss at a young age, and the strange club nobody wants to join. They also get into dark humour, grief counselling, dating after loss, audience reactions to comedy about death, and why sometimes laughter is the only way through.

Expect conversations about gay bear festivals, cruise ship comedy gigs, grief guilt, autoimmune diagnoses after trauma, and the awkward reality of trying to explain “my partner who died” in everyday conversation.

It’s a thoughtful, funny and refreshingly honest chat about grief, resilience and carrying the people we love forward with us.

Sam’s show Sugar Daddy is running at the Underbelly in Soho, London from 5 March to 4 April.

Find tickets and tour dates at samuelhmorrison.com @samuelhmorrison

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate and review the podcast. It really helps other widowed people find us.

You can also find Rosie on Instagram @widowedaf or at widowedaf.com.

As always… take care of yourselves, and each other.

0:02 Meet Sam Morrison + ‘Sugar Daddy’ arrives in London

3:04 The love story: meeting Jonathan and falling in fast

7:17 The rupture: losing Jonathan to COVID (and surviving the pandemic)

9:57 Finding language, finding help: support networks + queer widowhood

18:22 Building ‘Sugar Daddy’: turning grief into a show (and taking the hits)

28:03 Grief in the body + love after loss

35:37 Living with the long tail: time, milestones, sobriety, success-guilt

41:41 Spirituality, signs, and the wish for one more conversation

45:50 Final plugs + goodbye: dates, links, community

#widowedaf #griefandloss #covidgrief #queergrief #griefhumor #darkhumor #bereavement #griefsupport #sugardaddyshow #standupcomedy