After decades of singleton, I am getting married and moving to Paris: Help! He has a nine-year-old daughter!
Wow. I actually can’t believe that I am getting married. The reason? I am a New Yorker through and through, and I focused on being a New Yorker for the last two decades since graduating college. What does that mean? I wanted to rise through the ranks of the advertising world and become the executive I became. That meant 12- 14 hour days, dinners out at least four days a week and entertaining clients and prospective clients when they came into town. On the weekends, I’d crash, but have the obligatory “must be seen” party or event. But, one day early in 2016, I looked around as I was approaching my mid-40s, and asked myself what I had to show for all my sacrifice. The pivotal question was: Was it all worth it?
I had a dream to live in Paris, and life was passing me by without anyone to share it with. So, I started to go on Meetic, a dating website popular for Americans to meet Europeans. After kissing a few frogs, I met the man of my dreams. Yes, he is a Parisian and at our ages, does not come without baggage. He had been married before to a wretched woman but did manage to have a wonderful nine-year-old daughter, who will now be my stepdaughter. I’ll call her Eloise.
Eloise is a fun, sensitive child who, no doubt, is feeling a bit uneasy that her papa is getting remarried. Throw in the fact that I am moving to Paris to be with my Frenchman and can’t communicate French very well (my French is basic at best), and an odd parenting schedule that would require me to watch Eloise while my new husband is at work, and I am nervous. I am so elated to be getting married, starting a new chapter in life, but my pragmatic side says prepare and work through marriage and parental counseling before making the leap across the pond.
Fortunately, there is Z Living’s newest show Altar’d (premiering January 17th at 8 pm), which is all about transformations ahead of the big day! Sometimes big life changes happen in pairs, as in our care. While some engaged couples are looking to drop weight in the form of pounds or relationship baggage, couples who appear on Altar’d are separated to undergo inspiring 90-day transformations with the big reveal at the altar. They share their powerful stories of self-transformation to inspire others. Co-hosts of the show, Chris Marhefka and Erin Stutland offer up tips on how simple changes to diet, exercise and self-care can lead to big transformations in your own life.
I’ll be watching and hoping that I get my answers (or at least learn about another couple going through similar experiences), how about you?