Trivia From the World of Marriage, Real and Imaginary
By TwistieFriday, November 16 was a big day on BBC Radio 4. It marked the golden wedding anniversary of radio soap couple Phil and Jill Archer on The Archers. Fifty years ago, widower Phil tied the knot with Jill after meeting her at a village fete. While their children have struggled with romantic relationships, Phil and Jill remain constant and devoted. Not only that, they’re still played by the original actors.
Also in the world of imaginary couples on British soaps, Jack and Vera Duckworth on the long-running TV series Coronation Street are also set to celebrate fifty years of marriage. But it might be considered cheating on one level, since the characters didn’t appear on the show until the 1970s.
It’s nice to know some marriages last, despite the fact they don’t even exist.
In the real world of marriage, actress Sarah Michelle Gellar has taken her husband’s name as a five year anniversary gift, UPI announced yesterday. She will now be known as Sarah Michelle Prinze, which is a major step in Hollywood marriages. A source ‘close to the actress’ told USA Weekly:
“On their anniversary, she showed (Freddie) her new driver’s license. It was so sweet.”
I’m sure it was.
On the other hand, fourteen and a half years later, I still have a different last name from Mr. Twistie, and we’re still going very strong.
November 17th, 2007 at 11:15 am
I’m really having trouble with the implications of SM(G)(P)?’s “gift.” Name change as a reward to the husband for still being loveable after five years? A “gift” of changing your identity? I understand arguments about taking a spouse’s name as a matter of tradition, or wanting the whole family to have the same last name… but after five years it just seems like an insult to everyone!
November 17th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
[...] Twistie… While their children have struggled with romantic relationships, Phil and Jill remain constant and devoted. Not only that, they’re still played by the original actors. [...]
November 17th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
I’m with you, Kate. I did change my name, but I didn’t have any significant professional work associated with that name. One of my main reasons for changing my name is that it can get complicated when you add kids to the mix–at least at a lot of the schools and things around here, according to friends with kids. I couldn’t imagine telling The Beard, “I’m changing my name as my special gift to you.” That just seems icky.
November 18th, 2007 at 12:36 am
After 32 years of having different last names, my parents are still going strong Twistie!
You would think that Sarah Michelle Gellar would just drop the Michelle and become Sarah Gellar Prinze - thereby changing her name, keeping her name, and remaining just as distinctly pretentious.
November 18th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
I think people will continue to refer to her as Sarah Michelle Gellar.
November 18th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
I made the mistake of taking my first husband’s name. I was 19 and it was the 70s, and I thought it was a better name than the one I was born with. This alone should have told me it was mistake #1. Once you do that, you are pretty much stuck. Husband #3 will have no sense of humor about you keeping husband #2’s name, and it feels a little ridiculous at that point going back to the “maiden” name. Keep your own name, ladies! It saves you all those unnecessary trips to the social security office.
November 18th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
In Quebec where I live, by law, women keep their maiden names. In fact, if you want to take on your husband’s name, it is equivalent to just changing your legal name, meaning you need to go to court and justify the change. Oh, and it costs a pretty penny. It gets confusing though, because you can use your husband’s family name for things related to the federal government.
November 19th, 2007 at 10:36 am
I’ve decided to keep my maiden name not because of any great idealistic reason, but just because I’m too lazy to do the paperwork. I’m quite happy to be called Mrs. D rather than Ms. C, though.
November 20th, 2007 at 11:37 am
It took me a good two years to finally change my name, and yeah, mostly because of laziness. Honestly, it just makes things so much easier. With the same name, it’s much easier to access hubby’s stuff, be it at the post office, doctor’s office, or other. I’m glad my maiden name is my new middle name, though, so I still have that connection.
November 21st, 2007 at 3:40 pm
I never understood changing one’s name, especially in this day and age. I can do virtually everything for my husband, despite not having the same name. People just believe me when I say he’s my husband (which frankly kind of scares me - what if I was an impostor?)
November 26th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
I was so attached to my last name (mother’s maiden name, as pater left long before I was born) that I didn’t want to give the old girl up. So I hyphenated…my middle name after Mr. KBella and I were married. People have told me “I wish that I had thought of that!” On the other hand, when my best friend and her husband got married, he took her last name (she is Canadian, so she’d already had four - a first name, middle name, mother’s maiden name, father’s name; nothing hyphenated). Since she’s about to receive her doctorate, he didn’t find it fair that she add another name to that already elongated title. His middle name now is what his last name used to be. I found that so romantic!