# Just partnered! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 16, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284 "2014-07-16T16:38:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284/1 "2014-07-16T16:38:47Z")
I don’t post about this kind of stuff very often, but I’m making an exception for this happy occasion. At the end of September I went on my first date with an amazing woman. She was beautiful and she was everything I had told my friends I’d been looking for: fun, outgoing, talented, kind, supportive. Pretty quickly went from spending one or two nights together to three, four, five. By the end of March we were basically living together, though I didn’t officially move in until May. We started shopping for engagement rings around that time, but we won’t get engaged until this fall and at the moment we don’t plan to get married until 2016. But things took an interesting turn a couple of weeks ago: my girlfriend needed a root canal, which sucks enough on its own. Things didn’t go well, the temporary filling fell out a couple of times, there was an infection and maybe a piece of nerve wasn’t removed. In the middle of paying for all of that, we wondered if I could just put her on my health insurance - so she asked me to be her domestic partner. My employer’s policies didn’t accommodate us, but I think we both hated the idea of agreeing to this and not following through. It would’ve been a letdown and there were still some good reasons to formalize our relationship. So that’s exactly what we did: filled out the application online, went to City Hall early Tuesday, and become official domestic partners. We got a little certificate and everything. One of our friends happens to manage a coffee shop near City Hall, so he was the first to congratulate us (with free coffee and pan au chocolat) while my now-partner alerted Facebook. We combined our checking accounts at the bank and went back to the site of our first date. When the cab pulled up in front of the restaurant she ran out ahead of me, and after I was done paying I saw why: she’d grabbed the same table we shared on our first date. I got all choked up. It’s been an amazing 9+ months and I’m happier than I’ve been in years and years. We’re still at the beginning of a life together, but we’re family now. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284/2 "2014-07-16T16:43:18Z")
Is that like being straight-married? Congratulations! ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284/3 "2014-07-16T16:45:33Z")
Mazel tov! ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284/4 "2014-07-16T16:47:30Z")
Woohoo!!! ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284/5 "2014-07-16T16:48:57Z")
Congratulations Marley! ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284/6 "2014-07-16T16:52:49Z")
Very cool. Congrats! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284/7 "2014-07-16T16:53:38Z")
Congrats!! ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284/8 "2014-07-16T16:56:57Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > It’s been an amazing 9+ months and I’m happier than I’ve been in years and years. We’re still at the beginning of a life together, but we’re family now. Wonderful news. May you have a lifetime of joy together. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284/9 "2014-07-16T16:59:18Z")
Congratulations! Keep the mod hat off at home. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284/10 "2014-07-16T17:00:13Z")
Congratulations! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284/11 "2014-07-16T17:00:19Z")
Congrats!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284/12 "2014-07-16T17:04:24Z")
Mazel tov, Marley! ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284/13 "2014-07-16T17:13:07Z")
Good news! ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284/14 "2014-07-16T17:18:16Z")
easing into things may be the best procedure. good finding a partner. ---
**Author:** ![Hopeful\_Crow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@Hopeful\_Crow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hopeful_Crow)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284/15 "2014-07-16T17:20:39Z")
My best wishes to you and your spouse! Hooray! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284/16 "2014-07-16T17:24:41Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Is that like being straight-married? Congratulations! Her joke was that we just got gay-married except we’re straight. I knew I’d need to make this clarification, so: I’m a human male, she’s a human female. New York State has full marriage equality for everybody, and we’re not quite ready to get married. It takes time and money to plan a wedding, yadda yadda, and I made a down payment on our engagement rings Saturday, so we’re sure as hell not skipping that step. We’ve agreed not to get engaged until we’ve known each other for a full year and we may have some exciting travel coming up in October. But [domestic partnership looked like a good step because it gives us some rights and protections](http://www.cityclerk.nyc.gov/html/marriage/domestic_partnership_reg.shtml), and I think we both liked the idea of taking a formal step right now. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284/17 "2014-07-16T17:25:48Z")
Congrats Marley. May you and your new partner have a long and wonderful life. ---
**Author:** ![Vita\_Beata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@Vita\_Beata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vita_Beata)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284/18 "2014-07-16T17:32:58Z")
Congratulations Mr Marley! Wishing you both much happiness in your union. Thanks for clarifying the complications also. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284/19 "2014-07-16T17:36:53Z")
Just think of the heartwarming tale you’ll be able to tell your grandchildren someday of how it was an infected tooth that brought you two together. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284/20 "2014-07-16T17:43:12Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Just think of the heartwarming tale you’ll be able to tell your grandchildren someday of how it was an infected tooth that brought you two together. That and OKCupid. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-partnered/693284.md?page=2)