More Than Just a Summer Crush

As far as Brendon Maxwell Whalen knows, only two marriages have taken place between “Creekers” and “Islanders.” He does not consider his Sept. 4 wedding to Megan Goetsch, in the open waters of Connecticut’s Thimble Islands one of them, despite the origins of their relationship. Ms. Goetsch, 33, and Mr. Whalen, 35, entered each other’s…

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Connecting on a Rooftop

At a rooftop party in 2014 in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, a college friend introduced Erin Jaeger, who had recently moved to New York, to Mahen Gunaratna, by saying, “He’s our new roommate, he’s great, he’s the best,” Ms. Jaeger said. “It was very cordial — it wasn’t sparks are flying,” said Ms. Jaeger, now 30…

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Their Second Date ‘Sealed It’

When asked if there was a seminal moment when he knew he wanted to marry Claire Christine Galiette, Harold William Strunk, otherwise known as Billy, did not hesitate. “Honestly, our second date sealed it for me,” he said. “You bring in playoff baseball, beer, all-you-can-eat hot dogs and great conversation, and you have me pretty…

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In Quarantine, Their Romance Blossomed

Anne Huntington met Sam Sharma through a mutual friend in Manhattan in December 2019 and married him on Sept. 7, a mere nine-month blip on the whirlwind radar screen. “Ours was a Covid-inspired romance,” said Ms. Huntington, 36, who graduated from Colgate and is the president of the Huntington Learning Center, a nationwide tutoring and…

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Defying the Family Cycle of Addiction

I am the mother of four, but addiction is my ever-present extra child. My grandparents died of alcoholism. My father-in-law did, too. My 43-year-old brother died of a heroin overdose in May. He became addicted after taking prescribed OxyContin following an appendectomy. When my 13-year-old daughter needed hernia surgery as my brother was hitting rock…

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