It was the New York Times 'Vows' column read 'round the world--the story about Carol Anne Riddell and John Partilla, the newlyweds who left their respective spouses to be with each other after they met at their kids' pre-kindergarden class.
The piece appeared in Sunday's paper, and by Monday, the blogosphere was awash in controversy, with many readers and Websites ripping into the pair.
Forbes' Jeff Bercovici went further, recounting the story behind the story, and tracking down Riddell, a former TV reporter, for comment:
"We did this because we just wanted one honest account of how this happened for our sakes and for our kids' sakes...We are really proud of our family and proud of the way we've handled this situation over the past year. There was nothing in the story we were ashamed of."
In a follow-up piece Tuesday, Riddell's ex-husband Bob Ennis called the piece a "choreographed, self-serving piece of revisionist history" and shot back:
"The primary story here is not that interesting. People lie and cheat and steal all the time. That's a fact of life. But rarely does a national news organization give them an unverified megaphone to whitewash it."
Today, more drama: John Partilla, an advertising executive, admitted to Page Six that he regrets participating in the feature: "I think if we had had an indication afterwards of the nerve it would have struck, we obviously would not have shared our life in any way publicly."
