Continuing bonds with deceased gay partners in mid and later life

In many respects, death is a culturally expected part of human relationships, particularly intimate relationships between couples in mid and later life. For gay men specifically, death in the context of an intimate relationship has a salient history, namely the HIV- related deaths of many gay men from the 1980s onwards. Outside of this specific bereavement context, however, and like most intimate relationships, gay men may experience the loss of a partner for a diversity of reasons. Yet to date, the non- HIV- related bereavement experiences of gay men have received little attention (Patlamazoglou et al, 2018). This chapter explores the experiences of a sample of Australian older gay men who were grappling with the loss of a partner arising from cancer, heart and lung related illnesses, as well as their connections with the deceased.