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NY Times Wedding Announcement Causes Quite The Buzz

NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- A wedding announcement is one of the biggest events of a woman's life -- especially if it's featured in the New York Times.

But as CBS 2's Scott Rapoport explains, sometimes there can be a little too much information and the results can be shocking.

It's the place to turn to see who's getting hitched -- the wedding announcements in the Times' Sunday Styles section.

But did you see the one in the vows column this weekend?

The wedding announcement of former TV reporter Carol Anne Riddell and advertising executive John Partilla, who were married with children but not to each other and then split from their spouses so they could be together, is causing quite the stir.

"You mean the one about the couple meeting and breaking up with their spouses?" one New Yorker asked Rapoport.

Yep, that's the one.

Riddell-Partilla
Carol Anne Riddell (right) and John Partilla (Photo: CBS 2)

In the article, the couple spoke candidly about falling for each other while they were still married to other people.

And that's got people talking.

"Maybe it wasn't the best thing to put it out there ... but that's real life I think," Upper West Side resident Jennifer Landis said.

Psychologist and relationship expert Dr. Jeff Gardere said he's surprised at the couple's candor in the wedding announcement.

"When people see this they say wait a minute ... stop the presses," Dr. Gardere said. "It is unusual to come out and talk about it, and try to legitimize it and try to glorify it."

Some question whether it was appropriate for the Times to print such personal details.

A New York Times spokesperson said: "The vows feature gives a close-in account of a wedding every week. Every one is different. We don't attempt to pass judgment on the suitability of the match, the narrative of the romance, the quality of the ceremony or the flavor of the wedding cake."

Riddell told Rapoport via e-mail Tuesday she and her husband have no comment on the vows column story, but in an online article in Forbes she did have something to say.

"We did this because we just wanted one honest account of how this happened for our sakes and for our kids' sakes," Riddell reportedly said.

And ... for better or for worse ... now everyone knows.

Late Tuesday night, in an apparent shot at Riddell and the New York Times, Riddell's former husband, Bob Ennis told Forbes: "People lie and cheat and steal all the time. That's a fact of life. But rarely does a national news organization give them an unverified megaphone to whitewash it."

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