L.A. Affairs: We broke up as teens. It took us 35 years to get back together
2 years, 10 months ago

L.A. Affairs: We broke up as teens. It took us 35 years to get back together

LA Times  

The first time Ronnie skated by me, I noticed her smile. When picking Ronnie up for a date, I remember sitting in her mother’s living room in Montebello, forced to listen to the “Grease” soundtrack blaring from Ronnie’s bedroom while I waited. Ronnie began joining me at my mother’s home in Monterey Park. Ronnie began helping me keep track of my own medications so I could concentrate on my mother’s care and medications. On particularly bad nights, I’d stay overnight and watch her mom so Ronnie could get some rest.

Love Mother My Mother Her Mother Southern California Grease Ronnie  id  love  went  teens  ronnies  living  mother  care  35  la  affairs  radio  lives  took  ronnie  broke

History of this topic

L.A. Affairs: He was a rock star. I was just nice. Would our casual romance last?
5 days, 13 hours ago

L.A. Affairs: He was a rock star. I was just nice. Would our casual romance last?

LA Times  

We met at a boba shop on Santa Monica Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue perfectly situated between our apartments in the lively heart of West Hollywood. I wore light-wash jeans with rips at the knees and a purple North Face long-sleeve that read “Save the Polar Bears.” My beige jacket was fluffy and felt excessive for an L.A. winter. “I just …

L.A. Affairs: We found a love we weren’t supposed to. Would we last forever?
2 weeks, 5 days ago

L.A. Affairs: We found a love we weren’t supposed to. Would we last forever?

LA Times  

“Wait, you dated her? She’s basically royalty,” said an old schoolmate of my first love when we realized our mutual connection. I’d never met a Muslim person before coming to college, and here I was, walking into the mosque in my skinny jeans with a tiny silver cross hanging around my neck. Her family’s prominence in her home country, the …

L.A. Affairs: He was a perfect gentleman. Homeowner. Father. Film producer ... and ex-con?
1 month, 2 weeks ago

L.A. Affairs: He was a perfect gentleman. Homeowner. Father. Film producer ... and ex-con?

LA Times  

If you had asked me to go on a date with someone who was barely out of prison, my answer would be an immediate no. He sneaked in “I’m not a good person” so innocuously that the old me would have overlooked it. He even said during dinner something like, “I’m feeling like we’ve got a collaborating-on-work vibe more than …

L.A. Affairs: I met a stranger at the airport. And yes, I was having feelings for him
2 months, 4 weeks ago

L.A. Affairs: I met a stranger at the airport. And yes, I was having feelings for him

LA Times  

My brother dropped me off curbside at Los Angeles International Airport and yelled, “Run!” Our timing getting to LAX was thwarted by the kind of notorious L.A. traffic that airline change fees and crushed dreams are made of. Without missing a beat, she shot back: “Good, because you’re very handsome.” We said goodbye in a flurry. Flying over Tulsa, Okla. …

L.A. Affairs: I went to the ER after a fall. But I might have left with a boyfriend
3 months, 3 weeks ago

L.A. Affairs: I went to the ER after a fall. But I might have left with a boyfriend

LA Times  

I am an 81-year-old widow with shaky balance. “When was the last time you had a drink?” “Last night I went out with my buddies and had a few beers.” So, he’s single! The last thing I said to her was, “Why should I?” “Because you never know.” “Not doing it,” I said loudly, hoping the subject would finally be …

L.A. Affairs: At 77, I had a crush on my best friend’s widower. Did he feel the same way?
4 months, 4 weeks ago

L.A. Affairs: At 77, I had a crush on my best friend’s widower. Did he feel the same way?

LA Times  

At 77, I had given up. After two failed marriages and years of unsuccessful dating, I accepted what seemed to be my fate: single for almost 40 years and single for however many remained. After she died, Ty and I stayed in touch sporadically: a surprise sharing of his second granddaughter a year after we scattered my friend’s ashes, an …

L.A. Affairs: I discovered my dad’s secret children. It changed us forever
6 months, 1 week ago

L.A. Affairs: I discovered my dad’s secret children. It changed us forever

LA Times  

We all have a past — little ghosts of heartache and regret that can haunt us forever. Lifestyle L.A. Affairs submission guidelines L.A. Affairs is a first-person column in the Los Angeles Times chronicling romance and relationships. As I became an adult and started to make my own mistakes — as I started to understand the weight a person’s decisions …

L.A. Affairs: I found love in a truly hopeless place. Yes, the office
7 months, 2 weeks ago

L.A. Affairs: I found love in a truly hopeless place. Yes, the office

LA Times  

Heartbroken after a breakup that was long overdue, crushed by a stalled entertainment industry and depressed by my temporary day job at a dementia center, I grasped at any semblance of stability. Months of hopeful waiting ended with a curt dismissal: “We’ve decided to move forward with another candidate.” I was bitter, and my mind was overflowing with imagined shortcomings …

L.A. Affairs: I was new to Los Angeles. Was driving 70 miles for love worth it?
8 months ago

L.A. Affairs: I was new to Los Angeles. Was driving 70 miles for love worth it?

LA Times  

I begrudgingly met my husband. Driving two hours south through L.A., traffic pending, to visit a rowdy house of people I didn’t know did not sound desirable, especially when I had so much of California to explore. I am not one to believe in love at first sight but I remember the large wood panel door swinging open that first …

L.A. Affairs: I met my dream man. The only problem? He wasn’t my husband
10 months, 3 weeks ago

L.A. Affairs: I met my dream man. The only problem? He wasn’t my husband

LA Times  

I had been married for six weeks the night I met Anthony. Outside on the tiny patio, Anthony scooted in next to me with the bottles of Two-Buck Chuck we’d brought with us. My husband and I signed divorce papers nine months after we had said, “I do.” That summer Anthony called to say he’d been diagnosed with colon cancer. …

L.A. Affairs: I said, ‘I love you.’ She quickly replied, ‘As a friend, right?’
10 months, 4 weeks ago

L.A. Affairs: I said, ‘I love you.’ She quickly replied, ‘As a friend, right?’

LA Times  

My eyes scanned the crowd in the arrivals area of Terminal 5 at Los Angeles International Airport. Two years prior, on Jan. 17, 1994, the Northridge earthquake shook her parents’ Porter Ranch home violently, waking her and her family from their slumber. After a year of our digital friendship, I sat 3,000 miles away in my bedroom, but one night, …

L.A. Affairs: My mentor quietly quit me. Was the problem with my new guy or me?
1 year ago

L.A. Affairs: My mentor quietly quit me. Was the problem with my new guy or me?

LA Times  

“I love your work. I felt I was writing one of the artist’s characters in real time. “A miracle!” the artist said, picking me up from LAX. “I even have someone to set you up with,” she said, showing me a photo of a tall man at one of her events. I can’t right now,” she said, describing mourning over …

L.A. Affairs: My dad and her mom had an affair. Should that stop us from dating?
1 year, 3 months ago

L.A. Affairs: My dad and her mom had an affair. Should that stop us from dating?

LA Times  

After attending UCLA on and off for nine years, it was finally time for me to graduate. Upon my return eight months later, I discovered that my parents had indeed divorced, and Margaret had moved in but only to move out again in anxious anticipation of my coming home. She also was very easy to talk to, and I remember …

L.A. Affairs: He lied to me over and over. I went back to him anyway
1 year, 4 months ago

L.A. Affairs: He lied to me over and over. I went back to him anyway

LA Times  

We met for drinks in downtown Los Angeles. “Take all the time you need, Mell, but I know, without a doubt, that I love you.” So commenced our initial two-year romance. “Because he thinks I’m a gigolo.” Cue screeching brakes. Didn’t you say you were a writer, a voice-over actor, a comedian, a hotel bellman?” My intuition had been telling …

L.A. Affairs: I was focused on work. I didn’t realize he was flirting with me
1 year, 5 months ago

L.A. Affairs: I was focused on work. I didn’t realize he was flirting with me

LA Times  

When you’ve been in the bookstore business long enough, there are times when you start to think everybody’s got an angle. Maybe it’s just an L.A. thing, but it seemed that every time I stopped at a stoplight those days, some enterprising do-gooder would lean over from the next car with a crumpled card reading “We Fix Dents.” I didn’t …

L.A. Affairs: He changed my mind about love. I changed his about L.A.
1 year, 5 months ago

L.A. Affairs: He changed my mind about love. I changed his about L.A.

LA Times  

My divorce papers were signed, and I had just graduated from seven years of a grueling general surgery residency in New York City. My soon-to-be ex-husband helped me find an all-women surf and yoga camp in beautiful Costa Rica en route to L.A. Luckily, my ex and I were amicable enough, and he reminded me that I had always wanted …

L.A. Affairs: I was too happy and in love to notice the red flags
1 year, 9 months ago

L.A. Affairs: I was too happy and in love to notice the red flags

LA Times  

I landed in Los Angeles with my 10- and 12-year-old daughters in December 2013. We met during a last-minute visit to go see Simon, my old friend and first agent, who lived near Montana Avenue in Santa Monica. We would host dinners together in Adriano’s condo in Santa Monica and we’d also take the girls to the California Science Center, …

L.A. Affairs: 14 people who made big moves for love. But the risks didn’t always pay off
1 year, 10 months ago

L.A. Affairs: 14 people who made big moves for love. But the risks didn’t always pay off

LA Times  

It’s Valentine’s Day, and what better way to celebrate than to read some heartfelt tales of people who threw caution to the wind to pursue a love affair in Los Angeles? To make sure you get your fill of love stories today, we’ve included an essay about a couple who met as teenagers before their love story was revived decades …

L.A. Affairs: My relationship status dramatically changed while I was on a pilgrimage
1 year, 11 months ago

L.A. Affairs: My relationship status dramatically changed while I was on a pilgrimage

LA Times  

My wife Kathy died in 2018 on my birthday, March 24, from breast cancer. Fulfilling a long-held dream with Mary’s help, on Sept. 1 I began the Camino de Santiago in Spain, a 500-mile walk from the French border to Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain. I came home one day in a torrential L.A. downpour and found at my …

L.A. Affairs: I fell hard and proposed on New Year’s Day. She had other plans
1 year, 11 months ago

L.A. Affairs: I fell hard and proposed on New Year’s Day. She had other plans

LA Times  

Maybe two weeks into the relationship, Emily said to me, “You know this is just an affair, right? “They’ve got the best baguettes in town,” I said as I moved past her in the dusk, thinking that would be that. She invited me over for a movie night, and we had chosen, of all things, to watch “The Dead,” the …

L.A. Affairs: There was a big problem in our relationship. He lived in Nashville
2 years, 3 months ago

L.A. Affairs: There was a big problem in our relationship. He lived in Nashville

LA Times  

Chad’s profile picture on Tinder was a black-and-white photo of him singing into a mic with a fedora on his head. A line read, “All those wasted years I thought were overdue / were leading me to you.” That Christmas, Chad drove me to his family’s home in Delaware. He held my hand and said, “It would be cool if …

L.A. Affairs: I wanted romance. He made me feel weird about sex. Here’s what happened
2 years, 3 months ago

L.A. Affairs: I wanted romance. He made me feel weird about sex. Here’s what happened

LA Times  

When I moved to L.A. to change my life, Jon Hamm was on my mind. I started out as a woman who didn’t know what it meant when someone asked, “Are you in the industry?” “What industry?” I’d reply. We had a phone call, and not only did he ask me about the classes that I’d taught back in Ithaca …

L.A. Affairs: I finally found love and joy at 74. Then the pandemic happened
2 years, 4 months ago

L.A. Affairs: I finally found love and joy at 74. Then the pandemic happened

LA Times  

I met Ruben in 2012 in a yoga class on Larchmont Boulevard for people with HIV. I figured I’d visit him in Mexico whenever I could, and we’d enjoy whatever time we could spend together. After two weeks, I could see how impoverished his life had become as a blind man with HIV, bereft of his friends, as well as …

L.A. Affairs: I met the perfect guy. Then I learned that he lived in the Valley
2 years, 5 months ago

L.A. Affairs: I met the perfect guy. Then I learned that he lived in the Valley

LA Times  

When I was 45, I decided it was time to try online dating again. None of my previous relationships had worked out, but I still hadn’t given up on finding “the right one.” If I was going to meet this right one, it wouldn’t happen because he showed up at my door — not with the gated entrance at my …

L.A. Affairs: Her firecracker wit was the reason for the fireworks before the fireworks
2 years, 5 months ago

L.A. Affairs: Her firecracker wit was the reason for the fireworks before the fireworks

LA Times  

I met my wife at a Fourth of July party held on the third of July. You’re the copy chief at Doyle Dane Bernbach.” “And who are you?” I asked. She also told me about attending a two-hour meeting to decide if a hair-coloring product produced “believable” or “unbelievable” hair. To which she said, “Who asked you?” Two years later, …

L.A. Affairs: After a few failed relationships, was this one for real?
2 years, 6 months ago

L.A. Affairs: After a few failed relationships, was this one for real?

LA Times  

Dear Alvaro, I met you two weeks after my dad was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer in the summer of 2021. While at the Monterey Park Hospital, knowing more about my dad’s prognosis and trying my best to hide my tears, I found solace in the dating apps. Nevertheless, I enjoyed all our outings: those hours we spent exploring …

L.A. Affairs: How I got a second chance at love
2 years, 9 months ago

L.A. Affairs: How I got a second chance at love

LA Times  

In the year after my husband’s death from a massive heart attack, I functioned, but only barely. “I didn’t have that problem,” he said, “When I divorced, my wife got the house and I got the books.” Ah, I thought. I was wearing one of my favorites, a chic Italian knit sheath, and he said to me, “That’s a very …

L.A. Affairs: How a friend’s divorce affected my own marriage
3 years, 2 months ago

L.A. Affairs: How a friend’s divorce affected my own marriage

LA Times  

What had happened in between the first me and the second? “I know you admired this pattern,” my friend Suzie had texted regarding the unusual move of returning the very wedding gift I’d sent her 18 years ago. Why shouldn’t you enjoy what’s left of the set?” “Emma” was the name of the casual-yet-chic everyday china Suzie — a friend …

L.A. Affairs: On our third date, I dropped a potential deal-breaker. I’m bipolar
3 years, 3 months ago

L.A. Affairs: On our third date, I dropped a potential deal-breaker. I’m bipolar

LA Times  

By the time I turned 49, I hadn’t dated in 10 years. Santa Barbara has its benefits, like the ocean and mountains, but I’ve found that the pickings are slim in this dating pond. I’m a visual person, so when I saw Brian’s photos, I was stopped in my tracks — but not in a Cinderella meets her prince courtesy …

L.A. Affairs: This is why I stood him up on our very first date
3 years, 3 months ago

L.A. Affairs: This is why I stood him up on our very first date

LA Times  

The bartender came over to take my order after I had been waiting and waiting for my date. His response: “No.” Lifestyle Here are 10 of the best L.A. Affairs columns of all time We collected some of our favorite L.A. Affairs columns — which run weekly in the Los Angeles Times, and chronicle the ups and downs of dating …

L.A. Affairs: What might have happened if we’d gotten that drink?
3 years, 4 months ago

L.A. Affairs: What might have happened if we’d gotten that drink?

LA Times  

I was visiting a friend in New Zealand in 2019 when I had an extra travel day. Whether you’re looking for ocean views or desert landscapes or soaring mountain peaks, Los Angeles offers miles upon miles of strikingly different trails. Lifestyle Here are 10 of the best L.A. Affairs columns of all time We collected some of our favorite L.A. …

L.A. Affairs: They’re young and in love. And they each have a secret
3 years, 6 months ago

L.A. Affairs: They’re young and in love. And they each have a secret

LA Times  

We were both hiding a part of ourselves from the other. Lifestyle L.A. Affairs: 14 perfect stories for Valentine’s Day We’ve curated 14 of our favorite stories about love, culled from the archives of L.A. Affairs, the column dedicated to the ups and downs of the search for love in Southern California. Each time Leo would drive down to Los …

L.A. Affairs: The sheer exhaustion of dating as a single mom
3 years, 7 months ago

L.A. Affairs: The sheer exhaustion of dating as a single mom

LA Times  

We love each other but we can’t stay married because he is a person with alcoholicism who won’t acknowledge his problem. Yet over the next seven years I’ll share my bed with a series of highly unavailable people: a funny and handsome podcast producer who announces within the first moments of our meeting that he’ll never marry or live with …

L.A. Affairs: She told me the exact date she was going to shatter my heart
3 years, 7 months ago

L.A. Affairs: She told me the exact date she was going to shatter my heart

LA Times  

I realized there was still so much I wanted to share with her. Lifestyle Here are 10 of the best L.A. Affairs columns of all time We collected some of our favorite L.A. Affairs columns — which run weekly in the Los Angeles Times, and chronicle the ups and downs of dating in Los Angeles and the search for love …

L.A. Affairs: I finally figured out why my marriages kept failing
3 years, 8 months ago

L.A. Affairs: I finally figured out why my marriages kept failing

LA Times  

During my first marriage, I kept forgetting my anniversary. Lifestyle L.A. Affairs: 14 perfect stories for Valentine’s Day We’ve curated 14 of our favorite stories about love, culled from the archives of L.A. Affairs, the column dedicated to the ups and downs of the search for love in Southern California. But she walked straight up to me, interrupted my conversation …

L.A. Affairs: I survived a plane crash when I was 15. Now I know why
3 years, 10 months ago

L.A. Affairs: I survived a plane crash when I was 15. Now I know why

LA Times  

I finally had an answer to the question that had haunted me. “Why do you think you were the only survivor?” That’s a question I’ve heard many times over the years since I was in an airplane that crashed, killing everyone else aboard. Lifestyle L.A. Affairs: 14 perfect stories for Valentine’s Day We’ve curated 14 of our favorite stories about …

L.A. Affairs: He’s friends with all his exes. Except me
3 years, 10 months ago

L.A. Affairs: He’s friends with all his exes. Except me

LA Times  

I started seeing a therapist to tackle, head on, my trust issues. “So you like broken-winged birds, huh?” I asked, self-conscious that’s exactly what I was. A few weeks later, I introduced him to my 2-year-old son at Solange Knowles’ “Bridge-s” show at the Getty. I called my girlfriends, sure they would back me in my “I’m going to drop …

L.A. Affairs: I was all in. But was he all out?
3 years, 11 months ago

L.A. Affairs: I was all in. But was he all out?

LA Times  

We were on the same journey that all queer people are on, the journey of finding oneself and being found. It was called “You Knew Before I Did” and consisted of monologues based on friends and family, ex-girlfriends, ex-lovers and others who realized I was gay before I realized it for myself. Given our goodness — he met members of …

L.A. Affairs: I told every guy on the first date, ‘I want to have a baby’
4 years, 2 months ago

L.A. Affairs: I told every guy on the first date, ‘I want to have a baby’

LA Times  

Nobody warns you about turning 35. “I wish I’d done what you’re doing,” a childless mentor, 15 years my senior, said. “I saw so many women of my generation throw their lives away on loser guys because they didn’t think they could do it on their own.” He and my mom came into a modest sum of money and decided …

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