Customs are changing. As tradition would have it, Monica Patterson changed her last name to her husband's when she got married—but doing so was met with some backlash.
Monica, née Monica Gartner, was married to Sam Patterson in February after being in a long-distance relationship for six years. Her husband is from Cheshire, UK , and moved to the US in order to be with her earlier this year.
The couple tied the knot in an outdoor ceremony which was thoroughly documented on their TikTok account, which they share together.
The account has more than 2 million followers.
After the joyous exchange of nuptials, they uploaded a video published on their YouTube channel titled "Changing Her Last Name." In the video, Monica can be seen going through the legalities of applying to legally change her last name and all that entails.
Although this is a particularly common instance for a wife to change her last name to her husband, Insider spoke to the bride recently who candidly shared the backlash she received due to her actions.
"We were so excited about this video," Monica told the outlet. "A lot of the comments were great, but there were a lot of people saying things like, 'How dare he make you change your name?' They thought he was forcing me."
"People kept saying I was forcing her into it," Sam told Insider. "And she's just like, 'No, I just want the same last name as his grandma.'"
"I love my family, but it's my belief that when you get married you change your name. I'm sure if I had wanted to keep my last name, we would have had that discussion," Monica added. "I'm not being forced, I'm not being dominated... I'm so happy."
This goes to show how marriage in the 21st century is subject to a variety of customs that otherwise would not have been so important.
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