After a Breakup, A Bipartisan Union
Caroline Marie Darmody first observed Jared Joseph Jones throughout a February 2016 orientation session for an upcoming workers delegation journey to India. On the time, each labored as legislative assistants in Washington, however on totally different sides of the aisle: Mr. Jones for Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Ms. Darmody for Democratic Consultant Joseph P. Kennedy III of Massachusetts.
“I used to be seated throughout this lengthy rectangular desk from Jared,” Ms. Darmody stated. “I believed, who’s this massive pleased teddy bear individual?”
Later that month, the 2 arrived in India. “On the time, I used to be a younger, hard-line, left-of-center, ‘I don’t converse to Republicans’ form of individual,” she stated. Along with politics, there have been some variations of their upbringings as nicely. Ms. Darmody spent most of her childhood in Miami and Mr. Jones is from an unincorporated neighborhood in West Virginia known as Volga.
However regardless of all that, Ms. Darmody was charmed by the jokes Mr. Jones instructed as they toured the nation.
Quickly after returning house, Ms. Darmody, 35, emailed Mr. Jones, 38, to ask him out. On leap day, they met for a drink at Bier Baron Tavern in Washington’s Dupont Circle neighborhood. The date went swimmingly.
Extra dates adopted till Ms. Darmody acquired a name in March 2016 saying she had been accepted to Harvard Legislation Faculty. They weren’t certain they’d be capable to make a long-distance relationship work. “She’s shifting away and he or she’s going to marry a khaki pants Harvard Legislation Faculty man from household in Greenwich, Connecticut,” Mr. Jones stated.
Although they continued up to now for her first two years of faculty, their political divide generally felt troublesome. “Trump’s election modified quite a lot of issues,” Mr. Jones stated. In addition they “got here down in a different way on the Kavanaugh affirmation.”
They might combat and Ms. Darmody would assume: “Might I ever increase youngsters with somebody who thinks that?” They broke up within the fall of 2018.
Believing their political variations have been partly in charge, Ms. Darmody put her foot down: “Sufficient Republicans,” she stated, and determined to go on 50 first dates. “I went out on quite a lot of dates with quite a lot of liberal guys,” she stated. However she observed one thing about lots of the males she was seeing.
“When it got here to the nuts and bolts of each day life, these guys weren’t nice champions of ladies,” she stated. However Jared had “supported with out hesitation or qualification each massive dream I ever had. It jogs my memory of how Ruth Bader Ginsburg used to speak about Marty.”
So, when Mr. Jones reached out and requested her to lunch in early 2022, she stated sure. “Jared was truly actually certainly one of a form,” Ms. Darmody stated. “Politics and political views are one measure of an individual’s character however definitely not the one measure.”
They acquired again collectively that fall and knew they have been headed towards marriage. Mr. Jones picked out a hoop and, on July 30, 2023, they hiked the Maryland Heights path and he proposed at an overlook. The couple moved in collectively in Georgetown, the place they nonetheless reside.
Ms. Darmody is now an legal professional at Jenner & Block, a Chicago-based legislation agency, and works from their Washington workplace. She acquired a bachelor’s diploma in political science from Amherst Faculty and a legislation diploma from Harvard.
Mr. Jones is a senior legal professional on the IRS Workplace of Chief Counsel in Washington. He’s additionally a significant in america Military Reserve and an teacher at america Military Command and Normal Workers Faculty at Ft. Belvoir, Va. He acquired a bachelor’s diploma in political science, a grasp’s in enterprise administration and a legislation diploma, all from West Virginia College. He additionally acquired a Grasp of Legal guidelines in taxation from Georgetown College. Mr. Jones’s earlier marriage led to divorce.
When it got here time, Ms. Darmody selected their wedding ceremony venue: the 138-year-old Military and Navy Membership. Elizabeth Ann Copeland, a choose of america Tax Court docket and Mr. Jones’s former boss, officiated.
The reception was held within the venue’s “very formal and previous and male” eating room, Ms. Darmody stated. However their occasion introduced some new power into the house. “It was lit up like a nightclub in entrance of those work of George Washington.”
Mr. Jones stated he appreciated the convergence as nicely. “My facet of the marriage was principally both navy or West Virginia and there have been 12 Harvard JDs on Caroline’s facet,” he stated. “On this esteemed room within the Military and Navy Membership, we had two sides of America having such a blast collectively.”
He added: “It is a reflection of our story. Two completely totally different worlds that don’t spend sufficient time collectively.”
