304: Marriage License Mayhem: Our Wild Ride Trying to Get a Real ID License

We had to sit down and recount this story since it sort of went viral on Instagram and I got thousands of messages and comments and emails about it!

A few weeks ago, we accidentally stumbled across something totally unexpected – that we may not have actually been legally married for the past 22 years! That's right! Listen in as Jesse and I fill you in!

It all started with a passport - or rather, the lack of a current one. I was prepping for a trip to Colorado Springs for some filming and radio interviews when we realized that my passport had expired and that the window to renew it was way too tight. The backup plan was to try to get a Real ID, which turned into a long, chaotic day at the DMV, but the DMV line wasn’t even the wildest part.

While confidently presenting my organized folder of documents (thanks to Jesse), I was told that our marriage license wasn’t valid because it wasn’t the right kind. Apparently, what we’ve had all these years was just the signed license from our wedding, not the certified marriage certificate with the state seal. We had used that same document to change my name, get a driver’s license, even get passports, but now, we weren’t so sure someone ever mailed the signed license back after our wedding like we were supposed to.

The more we pieced it together, the more we realized what had actually happened, and we hope that you'll join as we walk you through this hilarious story of minor panic and the weird legal questions that come along with the realization that you might not actually be legally married... more than two decades after the wedding!

In This Episode

[2:24] - Jesse and I are sharing how we recently discovered that our marriage of 22 years might not have been legally recognized!

​​[3:37] - I nearly missed a trip due to delays getting a Real ID required for flying.

[6:43] - A week before traveling, I found that my passport hadn't been renewed like she had believed.

[8:44] - I realized that there was unfortunately no way to get my passport renewed in time for my trip, meaning that I had to get a Real ID.

[10:53] - Despite an estimated 15-minute wait time, I actually spent nearly two hours just to reach the DMV desk.

[14:05] - Hear how DMV staff revealed that our marriage license wasn’t valid without an official state seal.

[18:04] - Jesse realized that we likely never filed the marriage license, so no certificate was ever issued.

[18:45] - I began to worry that Jesse and I were never legally married due to paperwork mishandling.

[20:32] - Hear how we anxiously submitted an expedited request, unsure if Kansas even had our marriage certificate.

[22:15] - I came to realize that many other people have also mistaken a license copy for a valid marriage certificate.

[24:35] - Hear how we learned that there's a difference between a marriage license and a certificate with a raised seal.

[27:20] - The official certificate finally arrived, relieving us and allowing me to finally apply for my Real ID.

[29:52] - I found it funny that this rare paperwork error came from Jesse, since he is usually the more detail-oriented one!

Links & Resources

Crystal Paine

Social Media

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