A Couple Walks Into City Hall

Modern Love

The New York Times

Nytimes, Redemption, Society & Culture, New York Times, Love, Essay, Storytelling, Loss, Nyt

4.4 • 8.7K Ratings

🗓️ 6 April 2022

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It’s 2022, the year of matrimania. Roughly 2.5 million weddings are expected (a bump not seen since 1984), and other trends are wildly taking off — ceremonies for pets, weddings on weekdays, a revival of epic poofy dresses. While the business of nuptials is evolving, we revisit Pauline Miller’s essay from 2017 about one tried-and-true approach: tying the knot at City Hall (a decision fueled by Pauline’s desperate need for health care). Then, our host, Anna Martin, and producer Julia Botero take to City Hall in downtown Manhattan to see it for themselves. They talk to a swirl of people getting married — from a duo who met on Myspace to a divorced couple giving it another go. They also get the scoop on the most unforgettable wedding ever witnessed by the city clerk.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Love now and is your phone, love my, that's the love.
0:07.0	A stronger than anything.
0:09.0	A bigger love.
0:10.0	And I love you more than anything.
0:13.0	You're smart.
0:15.0	From the New York Times, I'm Anna Martin.
0:18.0	This is the Modern Love Podcast.
0:22.0	Today's essay begins with a couple who make a choice
0:27.0	just as they're running out of options.
0:30.0	And it turns out their act of desperation
0:33.0	is also an act of love.
0:36.0	The essay is called Getting Married is Better Than Dying, right?
0:41.0	It's written by Pauline Miller and read by Sam Dez.
0:53.0	Should we just get married? Chris asked.
0:56.0	Okay, I said, then passed out from exhaustion.
1:01.0	I didn't know what was wrong with me.
1:04.0	My body felt like it was shutting down.
1:06.0	I needed to go to the hospital, but I was a struggling actor.
1:10.0	I had no health insurance.
1:12.0	I had to take part-time jobs to pay the bills.
1:16.0	Chris and I had been happy together for three years
1:19.0	living in our separate New York City apartments.
	...

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