Latest news with #Megan
Axios
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Axios
Dishes we crave in downtown San Antonio
State of play: We've rounded up a couple dishes that keep calling us back. Madalyn's picks 🍞 Four Brothers Southern Provisions This spot on the River Walk inside Omni La Mansión del Rio does Southern comfort food with a fun twist — like its Texas-shaped Bexar cornbread ($14). The fluffy, jalapeño-studded bread arrives with a trio of rich, playful add-ons: whipped butter, honey and pimento cheese. It's oddly satisfying to slice into the panhandle or Hill Country, like a tasty little test of your Texas geography. 🍤 Tokyo Cowboy Just off the River Walk, this sleek spot is great for a night out or pre-show dinner. My go-to is the Gulf shrimp and vermicelli noodles ($16) — technically shareable, but fully satisfying solo. The shrimp are smoky and tender, the noodles light and springy. Crispy garlic, shishito peppers and a sticky-sweet char siu sauce bring heat, crunch and bold flavor. It's carb comfort without the post-dinner slump. Megan's picks 🍣 Shiro Japanese Bistro The crispy toro ($26) is the most innovative bite I've had in this city. The fatty tuna is served with karashi aioli, jalapeño, pickled wasabi and ponzu gel on a small bed of extra-crispy rice. It's a master lesson in balance among flavors and textures. Shiro is on the River Walk near the San Antonio Museum of Art — making it perfect for a post-date dinner.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Will you marry ... us? The friends stepping up as wedding officiants.
I no longer talk to the man I married when I was 29. But I'm still quite close to the man who married … both of us. At the time, my fiancé and I were living in Brooklyn, just a couple of blocks from my dear childhood friend Erik Kaiko and his wife, Megan. The four of us shared a CSA and frequent after-work happy hours. Asking Erik to officiate my wedding was a no-brainer; he was an actor, an excellent public speaker and a true friend we knew we could count on. We weren't at all religious, and Erik had already gotten ordained over the internet in order to officiate another friend's wedding, so it all made sense. Another bonus was that we were having a tiny wedding — immediate family only — and the officiant loophole meant we could 'invite' a couple of our best friends without opening the floodgates to actually inviting all our friends. The ceremony and wedding day were wonderful, and it is absolutely no fault of Erik's that we divorced a year and a half later. Why go the friend route? A recent survey on religious activity in the U.S. shows that nearly half of 18-to-29-year-olds identify as 'religiously unaffiliated,' which suggests that they may be looking beyond ministers, rabbis and other spiritual leaders to help them tie the knot. And, as Erik himself points out, 'Our generation is accustomed to looking for ways to do things differently, in a more personal way — and getting married is a significant life milestone that is a good example of that.' But what goes into asking a friend to fill this role, and what makes someone wedding officiant-worthy? Yahoo Life spoke to real couples and their officiants to find out. 'I decided to ask a friend to officiate my wedding because I wanted it to be a deeply personal service,' Lynn McKay in Syracuse, N.Y., shares. Her friend Acacia O'Connor was an obvious choice because 'they are smart, funny, thoughtful and eloquent," McKay says. "I knew that they would make the service special. They said yes immediately (of course).' McKay wanted to differentiate her wedding ceremony from the more religious or run-of-the-mill ones she had attended or seen depicted. 'I had been to various weddings where I couldn't connect to what the officiant was saying,' she explains, 'and I felt like Acacia made it both personal and meaningful.' O'Connor has been asked to officiate multiple friends' weddings. 'It wasn't for my love of the institution of marriage, that's for sure!' they laugh. O'Connor has never been married, is not monogamous and 'isn't the biggest fan of tradition,' they say. But they're a good friend, a writer, a good public speaker and seem to have a certain ... vibe. 'I'm priestly? If that makes sense?" O'Connor says. "I get the sense people think of me as someone who will have thoughtful things to say in creative ways, which is something you want in a wedding ceremony.' O'Connor also felt it was an honor to be asked. 'I felt an incredible amount of trust in me, asking me to play that role,' they explain. 'I'd much rather officiate than be in any type of bridal party. (I'm nonbinary and before that I was gender non-conforming, so that definitely is partly why I'm not bridal party material.) Honestly, other than the affianced, the officiant is kind of the star!' And why limit it to weddings? "Bring on the divorce rituals and the funerals — I can do it all!' they joke. When Brandi Ryans of New Jersey got married in 2010, it was important to have someone she could count on after a series of major letdowns. She and her now-husband had put down a deposit on a wedding venue only to discover soon after that it had closed and the owner had fled the country, with their hard-earned thousands of dollars. 'It's kind of funny now, looking back on how weird and dramatic and incredible our wedding was,' Ryans says. After being scammed the first time around, reliability became a huge priority when the couple went about rebooking their wedding. 'We never really thought about anyone other than Julie,' Ryans says of the trusted friend who ended up serving as the officiant. 'She was always a part of the puzzle we could count on.' Julie had already married some other friends, and 'we just knew that she was a beautiful person and she knew us and we trusted her.' Thankfully, that second planned wedding went off without a hitch. Kasey Freer and Jen Hillman, in Philadelphia, got married in 2012. They asked their friend Bev Canepari to officiate 'because she was a consistent part of each of our lives before Kasey and I fell in love,' Hillman tells Yahoo Life. Adds Freer: 'Bev was there when we met and has remained a great friend.' Hillman points out that, as a same-sex couple, she and Freer 'weren't even allowed to get married for the first couple years of our relationship, so when marriage equality was finally passed, we needed our favorite people to be a part of it." Canepari says she was "both overjoyed and extremely nervous' when Hillman and Freer asked her to marry them. After all, she had been the one to introduce them, and 'may have done a little matchmaking,' she admits. Getting certified to perform the ceremony was easy, but 'standing up in front of a crowd of their loved ones to marry them, well, that was a little harder," she adds. "But once I saw them both beaming with love for each other at a beautiful spot they had chosen in Prospect Park, my job was easy!' Nearly 15 years later, Hillman and Freer are still together. (Says Canepari: 'The feeling that I was part of that? Priceless.') The feeling is mutual. '[I] can't think of anyone else we would have wanted to make it official," Hillman says. "It was truly a celebration, and the party continues today when we bring our kids to visit Bev and her family.' And then there's my old friend Erik, now living in Chicago. Not only did he officiate my wedding and those of multiple other friends, but he has also played music at friends' weddings. And because what goes around comes around, he and his wife decided to have a friend officiate their own ceremony. Other friends (including me on banjo — a brave choice) were asked to perform. "Having someone who would honor our wishes in terms of the overall tone of the ceremony, the length, everything like that" was important, he says. 'We wanted to control the atmosphere of the event, not have that dictated by someone or something else (like 'the church').' He adds that it would have felt inauthentic "to get married by a member of the clergy or in a church, in terms of how non-religious I am." He's also been happy to return the favor. "I was someone they could trust to not only tick all the boxes legally, but also perform the ceremony in a way that felt appropriate for them," he says of officiating two weddings in a two-year span. But what about all the hassle (and cost) associated with being part of a wedding? 'It is 100% an honor to be asked to officiate a friend's wedding!' Erik assures me (promising he is not just saying this because he officiated mine). 'It was not a headache to me because, in all honesty, I did not spend all that much time preparing,' he laughs. Of course, even the best officiant can't cast a magic spell that will make the marriage actually stick. I divorced less than two years after my wedding, as did half the couples Erik and O'Connor married — spot-on with the national average, which shows about 50% of marriages end in divorce. 'I'm batting .500 as far as marital solvency,' admits O'Connor. 'But my friends in the couples are happy where they are at in their lives, and that's what matters.' One silver lining, for those of us who did divorce, is the long-lasting friendships we've maintained with our officiants. Erik is still friends with all of the people he's married, minus my ex (solidarity). 'You and I can get together whenever,' he texts me, 'and we can pick up right where we left off.' O'Connor says the same thing about their friendships with couples whose weddings they officiated many years ago. 'They're the type of friendships where if they called me on the phone, I would pick up, no hesitation, and I would show up for whatever they needed,' they say. 'Very Bill Withers 'Lean on Me' vibes.' McKay agrees. 'The marriage did not last — certainly not because of the officiant choice — but the friendship did,' she says. 'Acacia has been and will continue to be a force of good in my life, and I am honored to be their friend, 'til death do us part.'🚨 Do you have a relationship problem that could use the help of Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes, our celebrity advice columnists? Fill out this form or email us — askamyandtj@ — your question (the juicier the better).
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Will you marry ... us? The friends stepping up as wedding officiants.
I no longer talk to the man I married when I was 29. But I'm still quite close to the man who married … both of us. At the time, my fiancé and I were living in Brooklyn, just a couple of blocks from my dear childhood friend Erik Kaiko and his wife, Megan. The four of us shared a CSA and frequent after-work happy hours. Asking Erik to officiate my wedding was a no-brainer; he was an actor, an excellent public speaker and a true friend we knew we could count on. We weren't at all religious, and Erik had already gotten ordained over the internet in order to officiate another friend's wedding, so it all made sense. Another bonus was that we were having a tiny wedding — immediate family only — and the officiant loophole meant we could 'invite' a couple of our best friends without opening the floodgates to actually inviting all our friends. The ceremony and wedding day were wonderful, and it is absolutely no fault of Erik's that we divorced a year and a half later. Why go the friend route? A recent survey on religious activity in the U.S. shows that nearly half of 18-to-29-year-olds identify as 'religiously unaffiliated,' which suggests that they may be looking beyond ministers, rabbis and other spiritual leaders to help them tie the knot. And, as Erik himself points out, 'Our generation is accustomed to looking for ways to do things differently, in a more personal way — and getting married is a significant life milestone that is a good example of that.' But what goes into asking a friend to fill this role, and what makes someone wedding officiant-worthy? Yahoo Life spoke to real couples and their officiants to find out. 'I decided to ask a friend to officiate my wedding because I wanted it to be a deeply personal service,' Lynn McKay in Syracuse, N.Y., shares. Her friend Acacia O'Connor was an obvious choice because 'they are smart, funny, thoughtful and eloquent," McKay says. "I knew that they would make the service special. They said yes immediately (of course).' McKay wanted to differentiate her wedding ceremony from the more religious or run-of-the-mill ones she had attended or seen depicted. 'I had been to various weddings where I couldn't connect to what the officiant was saying,' she explains, 'and I felt like Acacia made it both personal and meaningful.' O'Connor has been asked to officiate multiple friends' weddings. 'It wasn't for my love of the institution of marriage, that's for sure!' they laugh. O'Connor has never been married, is not monogamous and 'isn't the biggest fan of tradition,' they say. But they're a good friend, a writer, a good public speaker and seem to have a certain ... vibe. 'I'm priestly? If that makes sense?" O'Connor says. "I get the sense people think of me as someone who will have thoughtful things to say in creative ways, which is something you want in a wedding ceremony.' O'Connor also felt it was an honor to be asked. 'I felt an incredible amount of trust in me, asking me to play that role,' they explain. 'I'd much rather officiate than be in any type of bridal party. (I'm nonbinary and before that I was gender non-conforming, so that definitely is partly why I'm not bridal party material.) Honestly, other than the affianced, the officiant is kind of the star!' And why limit it to weddings? "Bring on the divorce rituals and the funerals — I can do it all!' they joke. When Brandi Ryans of New Jersey got married in 2010, it was important to have someone she could count on after a series of major letdowns. She and her now-husband had put down a deposit on a wedding venue only to discover soon after that it had closed and the owner had fled the country, with their hard-earned thousands of dollars. 'It's kind of funny now, looking back on how weird and dramatic and incredible our wedding was,' Ryans says. After being scammed the first time around, reliability became a huge priority when the couple went about rebooking their wedding. 'We never really thought about anyone other than Julie,' Ryans says of the trusted friend who ended up serving as the officiant. 'She was always a part of the puzzle we could count on.' Julie had already married some other friends, and 'we just knew that she was a beautiful person and she knew us and we trusted her.' Thankfully, that second planned wedding went off without a hitch. Kasey Freer and Jen Hillman, in Philadelphia, got married in 2012. They asked their friend Bev Canepari to officiate 'because she was a consistent part of each of our lives before Kasey and I fell in love,' Hillman tells Yahoo Life. Adds Freer: 'Bev was there when we met and has remained a great friend.' Hillman points out that, as a same-sex couple, she and Freer 'weren't even allowed to get married for the first couple years of our relationship, so when marriage equality was finally passed, we needed our favorite people to be a part of it." Canepari says she was "both overjoyed and extremely nervous' when Hillman and Freer asked her to marry them. After all, she had been the one to introduce them, and 'may have done a little matchmaking,' she admits. Getting certified to perform the ceremony was easy, but 'standing up in front of a crowd of their loved ones to marry them, well, that was a little harder," she adds. "But once I saw them both beaming with love for each other at a beautiful spot they had chosen in Prospect Park, my job was easy!' Nearly 15 years later, Hillman and Freer are still together. (Says Canepari: 'The feeling that I was part of that? Priceless.') The feeling is mutual. '[I] can't think of anyone else we would have wanted to make it official," Hillman says. "It was truly a celebration, and the party continues today when we bring our kids to visit Bev and her family.' And then there's my old friend Erik, now living in Chicago. Not only did he officiate my wedding and those of multiple other friends, but he has also played music at friends' weddings. And because what goes around comes around, he and his wife decided to have a friend officiate their own ceremony. Other friends (including me on banjo — a brave choice) were asked to perform. "Having someone who would honor our wishes in terms of the overall tone of the ceremony, the length, everything like that" was important, he says. 'We wanted to control the atmosphere of the event, not have that dictated by someone or something else (like 'the church').' He adds that it would have felt inauthentic "to get married by a member of the clergy or in a church, in terms of how non-religious I am." He's also been happy to return the favor. "I was someone they could trust to not only tick all the boxes legally, but also perform the ceremony in a way that felt appropriate for them," he says of officiating two weddings in a two-year span. But what about all the hassle (and cost) associated with being part of a wedding? 'It is 100% an honor to be asked to officiate a friend's wedding!' Erik assures me (promising he is not just saying this because he officiated mine). 'It was not a headache to me because, in all honesty, I did not spend all that much time preparing,' he laughs. Of course, even the best officiant can't cast a magic spell that will make the marriage actually stick. I divorced less than two years after my wedding, as did half the couples Erik and O'Connor married — spot-on with the national average, which shows about 50% of marriages end in divorce. 'I'm batting .500 as far as marital solvency,' admits O'Connor. 'But my friends in the couples are happy where they are at in their lives, and that's what matters.' One silver lining, for those of us who did divorce, is the long-lasting friendships we've maintained with our officiants. Erik is still friends with all of the people he's married, minus my ex (solidarity). 'You and I can get together whenever,' he texts me, 'and we can pick up right where we left off.' O'Connor says the same thing about their friendships with couples whose weddings they officiated many years ago. 'They're the type of friendships where if they called me on the phone, I would pick up, no hesitation, and I would show up for whatever they needed,' they say. 'Very Bill Withers 'Lean on Me' vibes.' McKay agrees. 'The marriage did not last — certainly not because of the officiant choice — but the friendship did,' she says. 'Acacia has been and will continue to be a force of good in my life, and I am honored to be their friend, 'til death do us part.'🚨 Do you have a relationship problem that could use the help of Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes, our celebrity advice columnists? Fill out this form or email us — askamyandtj@ — your question (the juicier the better).
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Woman Lives with Her Husband, Her Ex and Their Kids. She Says It's the Best Decision They Ever Made (Exclusive)
After a dramatic breakup and a surprise pregnancy, Megan and Michael, first childhood best friends turned soulmates, found their way back to each other Tyler, Megan's ex-husband, chose to stay close for their daughter's sake, setting aside pride to build a peaceful home alongside Megan and Michael Now, Megan, Michael and Tyler live together with their children, showing their co-parenting style in a viral TikTokAgainst all odds and every societal rulebook, one family is thriving under one roof, made up of a woman, her ex-husband, her current husband and their two kids. It's a household stitched together not by tradition, but by healing, honesty and a fierce commitment to doing what's best for their children. 'Tyler and I got married in January 2020, and then [Michael] and I obviously went no contact,' Megan tells PEOPLE, recalling the journey that led her to share a home with her ex-husband, Tyler, and her now-husband, Michael. That journey, which is equal parts unconventional, honest and unexpectedly beautiful, has made the trio unlikely TikTok stars, drawing tens of thousands of followers who are captivated by their unorthodox but deeply functional family life. The TikTok account started almost on a whim. Megan says she never expected the response they received. 'Honestly, I just thought it was crazy,' she shares. 'And I was like, I bet there's a few people out there that are going to get a kick out of this. And then it blew up overnight.' That "crazy" setup has a surprising calm at its core. Megan and Michael were childhood best friends who met at church and stayed close through high school. 'We were pretty much best friends from the moment we met,' she says, smiling at the memory. They eventually dated, broke up dramatically and lost contact. Then life brought them back together in a way neither expected. After years apart, a chance reconnection while Megan was in rehab led to a quick rekindling of their friendship and eventually, a marriage. 'We got married a month after reconnecting,' Megan says. 'Not proud of the timeline, but I don't regret it.' Megan's marriage to Tyler, meanwhile, had ended shortly before her reunion with Michael. As a newly single mom, she reached out to Michael for help finding work. 'He did. He helped me get a job with his mom,' she recalls. 'That's kind of how we reconnected.' Things moved quickly after that. Megan discovered she was pregnant with Michael's child and found herself navigating a cross-country move, single parenting and co-parenting with Tyler — all while trying to make things work with Michael. South Carolina became their compromise. 'I told him my only requirement is that I needed a beach,' Megan says. 'And of course he was like, 'Yeah, I'll go anywhere to be with you and our son.' ' For a while, she carefully managed two separate households, coordinating handoffs of her daughter with Tyler so that he and Michael didn't cross paths. 'These two were never in the same place at the same time,' she remembers. 'I would send one to the store when the other was around.' Then one day, everything changed. Tyler was building furniture at Megan's house for their daughter when Michael needed to stop by. 'I was panicking,' Megan recalls. 'I looked at Tyler, and I was like, 'Michael has to come to the house right now.' And he kind of shrugged at me. He was like, 'I don't care anymore. I'm not mad. He can be here when I'm here.' ' That moment of grace shifted everything. 'I just think it was the grace of God,' Tyler tells PEOPLE. 'One day, I just woke up. I'm like, man, this is kind of silly. He's going to be here forever, so I might as well just suck up the pride.' From there, things moved fast. Megan floated the idea of all three living together. 'We all get along really well,' she remembers telling them. 'What if we just all got a place together?' To her surprise, they were both on board. 'We created a group chat and started sending properties,' she says. 'And two months later, we moved in here.' The adjustment, of course, wasn't easy. 'Tyler was up and down a lot when we first moved in together,' Megan says. 'Lots of emotional rollercoasters.' Tyler doesn't deny it. 'It was just a big range of emotions. This is great. I love it. This sucks. I hate it. I'm getting out of here next week,' he says, only half-joking. But he stayed for a reason that's easy to understand. 'My daughter,' he says plainly. 'I grew up in a semi-broken home. And I didn't want that for her. I was like, I'll do whatever it takes.' That meant giving up his dream job temporarily. 'I stopped being a cop just to move down here,' he says. 'I was like, whatever. I'll be a janitor if I have to, as long as I get to see my daughter.' For Michael, the dynamic has required its own emotional shift. 'It is definitely a rollercoaster,' he tells PEOPLE. 'But it's like a built-in friend that is never going to leave. So it's cool. It is so different from what I imagined for myself when I was in high school.' Reactions from friends and family have been all over the place. 'My dad, we blew up on each other and I didn't talk to him for five, six months,' Tyler says. 'At first, he was not fond of it. He was like, 'You're an idiot. Best of luck. See you then.' ' Today, things are better. 'He's like, 'Whatever works for you, man. I'm happy if you're happy.' ' Michael's mom is supportive, too. 'She loves Megan, she loves Tyler and all the kids,' he says. Inside the house, life is full but never predictable. 'It changes every single day,' Megan says. 'Let's say both the guys are at work. I stay at home with the kids, so we're out and about at the pool, at the beach, whatever. And then once the guys get home, it's usually to clean up, cook and they take the kids.' Evenings are usually spent together in the common area, not holed up in separate rooms. 'We use the common area more than we're ever alone in our rooms, hiding,' Megan says. The family doesn't hold formal sit-down meetings often, but communication is constant. 'It's kind of like we're doing everything on the fly,' Tyler says. 'We're usually like, 'Hey, don't do that.' or 'Hey, we should try this.' ' That open communication is part of what's made their unusual setup work. When asked what advice they'd give to others considering a similar path, Megan doesn't hesitate. 'Really focus on your healing first,' she says. 'If there is still so much bitterness towards your co-parent, it is going to cause an unhealthy living situation for the kids.' Tyler agrees. 'You got to do it for the kids and you got to put your ego aside,' he says. 'Your kid only gets one childhood.' Michael adds that it's about selflessness. 'Being slow to anger. Redoing the whole ego thing,' he says. 'It all works within itself.' As for their biggest TikTok misconception? Many believe that they're all romantically involved. 'We are strictly monogamous,' Megan says. 'Tyler is dating somebody and they're monogamous.' And while online judgment exists, it doesn't shake them. 'I'll get literal DMs,' Megan says. 'And I screenshot it and I send it to the group chat and I'm laughing. It doesn't faze me.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Tyler, who's back working as a police officer, is a bit more cautious. 'The only thing that it really affects is my job,' he says. 'People come up to me at work sometimes. 'Are you the guy from TikTok?' I'm like, 'Yeah, that's me.' ' Dating, he adds, is also complicated. 'We actually did a dating application. 1,300 responses later, none of 'em worked,' he says, laughing. Looking forward, the family has a dream to build a compound with separate homes on shared land. 'If they're not on board, they're out,' Tyler says. 'I'm going to do what's best for my family.' Over time, the experience has shaped all three of them in lasting ways. 'Patience and grace,' Tyler says. 'Megan and Michael also never argue. So it's something that's great to see.' Megan agrees. 'If you see the fact that I have patience, it's because I learned it from Tyler… The way he speaks to our daughter.' Michael nods, adding, 'Especially in Latino communities, it's all toxic. So just being selfless and slow to anger. It works.' At the heart of it all, Megan says, is their shared faith. 'None of this would be possible if it weren't for each of our individual relationships with the Lord,' she concludes. 'That's how we were able to heal and come together. There's a bigger picture.' Read the original article on People
Express Tribune
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Megan Thee Stallion stuns Love Island Girls, introduces new bombshells in surprise villa visit
Megan Thee Stallion brought high energy and unforgettable vibes to the Love Island USA villa during a surprise visit that left contestants—and viewers—buzzing. From hyping up the girls to launching new arrivals, the Grammy-winning artist delivered a standout episode that shook up the game. In the makeup room, Megan shared candid support for the women, calling their presence 'breathtaking' and praising their confidence, personality and style. Megan hyped up Olandria, who was visibly stunned by the rapper's presence. 'What is the booty routine, friend?' she asked, to which Olandria excitedly responded, 'Genetics, babe. Genetics'. Megan couldn't hold back, exclaiming, 'I don't know how many screenshots I got of you!' Turning to Chelley next, Megan was full of admiration when Chelley checked Ace during a conversation. Megan recalled the line and responded, 'Put him in check. Don't call him babe no more.' The episode featured a three-part challenge—twerk off, limbo battle and a life-size puzzle race. The girls won the final round and were rewarded with the entrance of a new male bombshell: 23-year-old TJ Palma from New York. Megan also introduced Andreina Santos, a 24-year-old Dominican beauty from New Jersey who didn't hesitate to say she had her eye on multiple boys. 'Y'all better show America what it do,' she told the girls before the night's events kicked off.
