Aspen Matis said she was turned off by Daniel Jordan Weingart after he stayed with her for a week in October 2016. The two had never met before.
Ms. Matis, now 34, lived in a 350-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village and was taking undergraduate classes at Columbia. “I had just gotten divorced and often opened up my space to friends and acquaintances to combat my constant loneliness,” she said.
Mr. Weingart, 36, was a houseguest because he was dating Ms. Matis’s friend, Tory DeOrian, a makeup artist whom she had met that June while on vacation in San Francisco. “I invited her to visit me in New York,” Ms. Matis said. Three months later, Ms. DeOrian arrived with Mr. Weingart in tow.
Mr. Weingart was messy, she said, and his belongings were all over her tiny home. “I was relieved when they left,” Ms. Matis said.
The sentiment was mutual. “I felt like an imposition because the space was so tight,” Mr. Weingart said.
Ms. Matis and Ms. DeOrian stayed in touch and also traveled together, including a trip to the seaside town of Pescadero, Calif., in late June. They loved the destination and made a return visit in December, this time with Mr. Weingart, who was still dating Ms. DeOrian. “It was a great trip, and we had many happy moments swimming in the wild waves together,” Ms. Matis said.
