A young woman is at the altar about to marry a man she doesn’t love when she sees her dead fiancé among the guests.
Sarah looked in the mirror and tucked her favorite gold chain out of sight. This was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, but she felt like crying.
“Now, don’t you cry!” the makeup artist said quickly, putting powder under Sarah’s eyes. “You’ll ruin my work!”
Across the room, Sarah’s mother smiled weakly. “Tears of joy,” she said, but she knew they were tears of sadness.
What should have been Sarah’s dream wedding had turned into a nightmare. Sarah adjusted her wedding dress and felt the weight of her engagement ring against her chest. It was a delicate ring with a tiny diamond, very different from the large ring now on her left hand.
“This is your choice,” Sarah told herself softly. “Now that David is gone, it doesn’t really matter who you marry.” The man she was marrying was nice, but he was chosen by her father.
Frank Melville was the son of Sarah’s father’s business partner. Their marriage would strengthen a business deal that had made both men very rich.
Sarah’s true love, David O’Reilly, had died three years ago in a terrible car accident. David was her driver when Sarah was a young celebrity, always chased by paparazzi.
It should have been the happiest day of Sarah’s life, but all she could think about was David.
Sarah remembered how she sometimes caught David watching her in the car’s mirror. She would look away. Then one night, she drank too much at a club, or maybe someone slipped her something.
Feeling sick and helpless, she called David. He came right away and helped her out of the club when she couldn’t stand.
To her embarrassment, she vomited, and David held her hair back and rubbed her back, saying comforting words. He helped her clean up and took care of her.
From that moment on, Sarah started watching David. Eventually, she convinced him to go on a date with her. They fell in love, and one day David gave her a delicate ring with a tiny diamond.
Sarah had been living the wild life of a party girl until she met David.
She happily said yes, thinking her parents would also be happy about her marrying a driver who had no money.
“But Daddy,” Sarah cried, “you always said what mattered was that I was happy!”
“You can be just as happy with a rich man,” her father replied. “Forget O’Reilly; he’s a loser.” But Sarah loved David and fought for their love. She believed her parents would eventually accept him.
That happy day never came. Instead, Sarah got a phone call while she was with her family. She saw her father go pale.
“Sarah, be brave, my love,” he said gently. “It’s David; there was an accident, a terrible accident…”
Sarah screamed and her father held her tightly while her mother sat nearby, twisting her hands and biting her lips.
That was the last day of her old life, the life where she believed in lasting love and happy endings. Two months later, Sarah told her parents she was pregnant.
They wanted her to end the pregnancy, but she refused. “This is all I have of David, and I’m having this baby!”
They had to give in to her strong will, especially with her grandmother on her side. Gran had real power in the family. Sarah’s father reluctantly accepted the pregnancy, and they spread the rumor that the father was a billionaire.
Sarah’s little girl was born, and for once, the family didn’t make a big deal out of it. Little Rachel’s existence was a secret. Soon after Rachel was born, Sarah’s father began pushing her toward Frank Melville.
Sarah sighed and lowered her delicate lace veil. “I’m ready,” she said. She picked up her bouquet and allowed her mother and bridesmaids to lead her downstairs to the waiting limousine.
A man in a wheelchair arrived at the church first. He wore a dark suit and had a bunch of wildflowers in his lap. When the usher asked him who he was with, he said, “The bride.”
He hadn’t seen Sarah in almost two years, but he turned on the TV yesterday and saw her. “Socialite Sarah Farmin, who has been away from the city’s social scene, is about to get married!”
“Not if I can help it!” David cried, turning off the TV. He remembered waking up in a hospital two years ago with his legs useless.
His mother, who had breathing problems, had been crying at his bedside. Then Sarah’s father, the powerful Greg Farmin, walked in. “You’re crippled,” he said bluntly. “What kind of life is that for Sarah? You know she’ll marry you, but you’ll be half a man.”
“What do you want?” David asked.
“I want you to stay away from Sarah. Let her believe you are dead so she can live a happy life,” Farmin said. “In return, you and your mother will get the best care money can buy.”
So David agreed, and Farmin kept his promise. David slowly got better, but his mother eventually died.
“I can’t let her do this,” David thought. “I have to tell her I’m alive.” So, when Sarah walked down the aisle with her father, David waited for his moment.
When Sarah reached Frank and the best man, her father gently lifted her veil and kissed her forehead. Just as he was about to give her away, a voice interrupted.
“Sarah,” it said. “Please don’t do this.”
Sarah turned and saw David in his wheelchair, wildflowers in his lap.
“David?” she whispered, shocked. “Oh my God, David? I must be dreaming…” Was he a ghost or a hallucination?
“It’s me,” David said, wheeling toward her. “I’m alive, but I thought you’d be better off without me.”
“Without you?” Sarah gasped. “I’ve been DEAD without you! The only thing that kept me alive was our baby, our little Rachel.”
“Baby?” David asked, shocked. “You had a baby?” He turned to Greg Farmin. “You never told me about the baby!”
“Daddy!” Sarah cried. “You knew David was alive and didn’t tell me?”
“I wanted to protect you,” Greg said defensively. He turned to David. “You gave me your word and took my money.”
“You paid him to stay away?” Sarah yelled. “You broke my heart!” Turning to Frank, she said with a sad smile, “I’m sorry, but I can’t marry you. I’m going to marry the father of my child.”
Sarah walked back toward David and hugged him. “You marry that man, and you’ll end up with nothing,” Greg shouted. “You won’t get a cent!”
Sarah’s grandmother stood up, looking at her son coldly. “Shut up, Greg. It’s not your money to give away. It’s mine, and I think Sarah and David deserve it all!”
Sarah and David got married and lived with little Rachel in a small house they bought with their own money, even though Gran wanted to buy them a luxury apartment. They knew they didn’t need luxury now that they had each other.
The Heartwrenching Life of Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore spent decades as “America’s Sweetheart,” starring in popular shows like The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. But behind her Hollywood success, her life was filled with family tragedies. Here is the story of Mary Tyler Moore.
Mary Tyler Moore was born on December 29, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York, to George Tyler Moore, a clerk, and Marjorie Hackett Moore. She was the oldest of three children in a Catholic family, raised in a home her father called “impoverished nobility.”
Mary Tyler Moore – Childhood
Brooklyn was a diverse place during Mary’s childhood. As an English-Irish Catholic, she grew up in an orthodox Jewish neighborhood. Though it was different from what she was used to, Mary found it exciting. “My background is exciting,” she said. “We integrated ourselves, fought each other, called each other names, but through it all we were friends.”
Mary loved dancing as a young girl. When she was five, her family moved to Los Angeles, bringing her closer to her dream of being in show business. After World War II, the Moore family settled in Los Angeles, where Mary’s successful uncle, Harold Hackett, encouraged the move.
Moving to Los Angeles
Starting at the bottom, Mary worked hard to achieve her dream. She attended grammar school in Hollywood and later went to a Catholic school. She wasn’t the best student and struggled with self-confidence, especially with a father who was an expert on movie classics.
However, Mary knew that if she was going to make it in show business, LA was the place to be. She focused on singing and dancing and worked in the mailroom of a Hollywood company in 1953. Although it wasn’t glamorous, it was a step toward her dream. But Mary wasn’t meant to stay in a mailroom.
Mary would often sit in on radio show rehearsals, and she eventually took dance classes, which her aunt paid for. By the time she graduated high school, Mary was well on her way to a career in show business.
Mary Tyler Moore – Dancer
In 1955, Mary got her first on-screen role as a dancer in TV commercials for The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. She played “Happy Hotpoint” in 39 segments, earning $6,000. At just 17 years old, Mary was now a professional dancer. But soon, she found out she was pregnant, which changed everything.
Mary had married Richard Carleton Meeker in 1955, and they had a son, Richard “Richie” Meeker Jr., in 1956. She wrote in her memoir how difficult it was to continue working as an actress while pregnant. She even had to squeeze into a costume that became tighter as her pregnancy progressed.
Mary Tyler Moore – Comedy Shows
After her pregnancy, Mary’s career took off. She appeared in several TV shows, and although she was often hired for her “beautiful dancer legs,” she soon proved she had real talent. In the early 1960s, she was cast as Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show. The show became a huge success, known for its clever humor. Mary won two Emmys and a Golden Globe for her work on the show.
After the show ended in 1966, Mary took a break to focus on family and movies. However, she found her true calling in comedy shows. In 1970, she got her own show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, where she played the role of Mary Richards, a single woman working as a producer at a fictional news station. The show was groundbreaking and became an instant hit.
Mary’s show ran for seven seasons and 168 episodes, earning her many awards. But it wasn’t all easy. Before the pilot aired, both Mary and the writers were worried. They had a terrible first run-through, and Mary cried herself to sleep. But the writers made changes, and the show became a huge success.
Mary Tyler Moore – Awards
The show was filmed in front of a live audience, which made it nerve-wracking for Mary, who often had to perform dance routines perfectly. “It was do or die,” she said. Mary won several awards for her role, including three Emmys and a Golden Globe, proving her talent.
However, behind the success, Mary faced personal struggles. Both she and her mother battled alcoholism. Mary’s sister passed away from a combination of alcohol and painkillers, and Mary’s own son also faced addiction and tragic loss.
Alcohol Abuse
Mary’s alcoholism worsened during her marriage to Grant Tinker. She would drink to cope with unhappiness, even playing “Russian roulette” with her car. After their divorce in 1980, Mary’s drinking continued until she checked into the Betty Ford Center for help. She managed to stop drinking and found strength during her recovery.
Tragic Passing of Son Ritchie Meeker
Mary’s son, Richie Meeker, tragically passed away in October 1980 after accidentally shooting himself with a gun. Richie had struggled with addiction, and his death was devastating for Mary. She later spread his ashes in the Owens River in California and wrote about her grief in her memoir.
Mary Tyler Moore – Academy Award
Despite the heartbreak, Mary continued to find success. In 1980, she starred in Ordinary People, earning an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. She also won a Tony Award for her Broadway performance in Whose Life Is It Anyway?.
Mary married Robert Levine in 1983, and they stayed together until her death in 2017. In her later years, Mary battled complications from diabetes, including heart and kidney problems. She also lost her vision, and in 2011, she had a benign tumor removed from her brain.
Mary Tyler Moore passed away on January 25, 2017, at the age of 80 due to cardiopulmonary arrest, following a battle with pneumonia. Her death was met with tributes from fellow celebrities, including Robert Redford and Oprah Winfrey.
Mary Tyler Moore had a tough life behind the scenes, but she will always be remembered for her talent, grace, and kindness. She will be missed, but her legacy lives on.
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