A tipster sent us a story about Linda Wolfe, a 68-year-old Indiana woman who has been married 23 times.
Ms. Wolfe’s life has been vastly interesting. Her first marriage in 1957 was for love (he was 31; she was 16). In 1996, she got married for the publicity. Being the “most married” woman — a Guinness world record — was profitable for a while. Wolfe married a one-eyed inmate. Two of her husbands were gay, two were homeless. Some cheated on her. One “choked her and turned her lip inside out.” Another secured the fridge with padlock and chain.
But now Ms. Wolfe has been single for a dozen years — her longest stint since childhood. Konrad Marshall writes:
Since her last groom, she hasn’t dated and she doesn’t kiss. Wolfe has the record, but she would rather have something else, more common and more lasting.
“But I would get married again,” she said, “because, you know, it gets lonely.”
What makes someone vow “til death do us part” over and over again? Obviously Ms. Wolfe knew many of her unions would not last; but what of people like Elizabeth Taylor (eight times), Zsa Zsa Gabor (nine times) or even Jennifer Lopez (three times)?
You have to wonder if some of these women (not J. Lo, of course) were a product of an era in which it was better to be married than just sleep around. Or is the wedding — the vows, the leap of faith involved in saying “I do” — part of the appeal? And did they mean it every time they said “I do”?
Married, For The Record [Indy.com]