Jean Smart recalls insanely demoralising first date following death of husband

• Jean Smart found her return to dating after thirty years emotionally exhausting.
• The actress feared her awkwardness during the first date would end the romance.
• Smart remains in a relationship with a younger man she met through friends.
  

Jean Smart recently spoke candidly regarding her first dating experience following the death of her husband, Richard Gilliland, in 2021.

Gilliland, a renowned television actor, passed away at the age of 71 after a brief illness on 18 March 2021, in Los Angeles. Smart had been married to him since 1987 and the couple shared two sons, Connor and Forrest.

During the Wednesday, episode of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ podcast, the 74-year-old American actress reflected on the immense difficulty of re-entering the romantic world after losing her partner of 34 years.

Smart described the experience of going on her first date in more than three decades as "insanely demoralizing." She confessed to the host that she felt like an "absolute wreck" throughout the evening.

"I remember standing outside myself, watching myself in this restaurant, just going, ‘Oh God, you didn't just say that. Oh, could you be more boring?’" the Emmy winner recalled.

She admitted that she had never felt older or more unattractive than in that specific moment, assuming she would never hear from the man again.

Despite her initial fears, the Hacks star did not "send him running 100 miles in the other direction." Smart is currently dating the individual, whom she describes as an "extremely lovely man" met at a friend's party.

She noted that her new partner is "several years younger" than her, a fact that she admitted makes her feel somewhat "paranoid."

This new chapter follows a prolific period in her career, marked by her acclaimed performance in the series Hacks.