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Patton Oswalt Says His Daughter Had A Hard Time Adjusting To His New Wife, 1 Year After His First Wife’s Sudden Death

Date November 13, 2019

Author By Cheryl Welsh

American stand-up comedian Patton Oswalt was a devastated man when his wife passed away in her sleep on April 21, 2016. Patton Oswalt’s late wife, Michelle McNamara, was a crime writer, famous for her website, True Crime Diary.

To Oswalt and his daughter Alice, losing McNamara was a huge blow, and at the time, none of them imagined being able to move on. In an open letter published by Time as an obituary at the time, Oswalt penned that she had left a big gap in their lives.

She hasn’t left a void… She’s left a blast crater.

Oswalt admits things were tougher for his daughter Alice

Patton Oswalt is a great dad and after his wife’s passing, he knew that he had to put on a brave face and continue taking care of their daughter Alice Rigney Oswalt. Recently, Oswalt admitted on an interview with Kevin Nealon that for Alice, adjusting was tough.

Oswalt shared that after he married his second wife Meredith Salenger in July 2017, “there was some weirdness” since having a new mom was a big adjustment for Alice.

Sometimes, Alice would revolt saying “with mommy I never had to do all these chores,” a sign the parents took to mean that she missed her mom a lot. After the loss of a parent, young kids often get sentimental about their past and it is natural if they choose to act out in frustration.

Lucky for Alice, both Oswalt and Meredith were ready to help her see that she was loved and in time, they overcame the “weirdness” as a family.

Falling in love again was like “getting hit by lightning”

Speaking on NPR, Oswalt shared that losing his wife was a dark time for him.

I felt like I was fading out of the world ... just sort of treating myself like I had already died.

But when he met his second wife Meredith Salenger, things turned around for him in a way he never anticipated.

It's almost like getting hit by lightning twice, that the statistical odds are so insane — I met someone just as, if not even more, extraordinary in this woman Meredith Salenger.

For Oswalt and his daughter, Meredith became the light at the end of the tunnel, as she brought her warmth and love into their lives. Meredith helped them to heal and move on.

The universe has a comical way of making things work and 1 thing is for sure, every situation, no matter how dark, can get better. Oswalt’s family is proof that if we are open to it, change can help us find happiness wherever we are.

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