12 ST THE NEW YORK TIMES, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2020Vows
Unforgettable. That’s the word that brought
the worlds of Kaitlyn Folmer and Jonathan
Morris back into the same orbit after a brief
but indelible encounter more than seven
years earlier.
“When I first met Kaitlyn, I found her to
be super smart, super happy, very efficient,
and very energetic,” Mr. Morris, 48, said.
“She was someone who was really hard to
forget.”
The two first met in March 2013, when
both were in Rome to report on the resigna-
tion of Pope Benedict XVI and the conclave
that elected Pope Francis.
Ms. Folmer, 37, an investigative producer
in New York for ABC News, was booking
guests at that time for “Good Morning
America,” and one of them was Cardinal
Timothy M. Dolan, archbishop of New York,
whose wingman was Mr. Morris. Mr. Morris
was then a Roman Catholic priest and a me-
dia adviser, as well as an analyst for Fox
News.
During the booking process, she said, she
was “incredibly impressed” with Mr. Mor-
ris.
“He was very kind and very pleasant, and
I liked the fact that he also spoke Italian,”
said Ms. Folmer, who was then living on the
Upper West Side of Manhattan.
After the trip to Rome, she said, “I would
catch him every once in a while on TV.”
One day in June 2019, Ms. Folmer hap-
pened to catch Mr. Morris on television yet
again, this time discussing his decision to
leave the priesthood for a new life that could
potentially include marriage and a family.
Four months earlier, in February 2019,
Mr. Morris had been granted a sabbatical
by Cardinal Dolan to think over what would
become a life-altering decision.
“I was seeking a special dispensation to
leave the priesthood,” Mr. Morris said. “I re-
ceived about 25,000 emails in the two days
that followed my announcement during
that interview.”
One of those emails was sent by Ms.
Folmer, though Mr. Morris had not seen it
because of the sheer volume of messages in
his inbox.
A week later, Mr. Morris noticed a post
from Ms. Folmer on her social media and
thought it would be a good time to reach out,
so he sent her a direct message on Twitter.
“Kaitlyn, I don’t know if you remember me,
but we met in Rome when I was a Catholic
priest,” he wrote.
“I’ve requested dispensation from Pope
Francis for the possibility of leaving the
priesthood. I’m wondering if you are still in
New York, and if you’d like to go to lunch.”
Ms. Folmer said that when she saw the
text, she was “as curious as she was excit-
ed.”
“I knew what he had said in his state-
ment, but I wanted a deeper understanding
of why he left the priesthood,” she said. “I’m
an investigative producer, so being curious
is a huge part of my nature.”
They met for lunch at Match 65, a restau-
rant in Manhattan, on June 13, 2019, which
happened to be Ms. Folmer’s birthday. “We
drank rosé, and sat and talked for about two
hours,” she said. “We got along so well. It
was just such an enjoyable time.”
They parted ways and Ms. Folmer waited
for a follow-up phone call from Mr. Morris
that did not come for three weeks.
“Can you believe that,” said Ms. Folmer,
her voice rising. “I was a bit concerned, but
my girlfriends said do not call him, which I
didn’t. And they told me that if he really
wants to see you again, he will make it hap-
pen.”
Asked about the silence, Mr. Morris said
simply, “Well, I wasn’t really looking to
jump into a relationship at that exact time.”
But he was still very much interested in
Ms. Folmer, who grew up in Harrisburg, Pa.,
as an evangelical Christian, and graduated
from N.Y.U. with a bachelor’s degree in
broadcast journalism.
“I had been living out in Akron, Ohio, at
that time, and getting into a new business,”
he said, “but no matter where I went, Kait-
lyn was always on my mind.”
Mr. Morris, who is now a partner in Mor-
ris and Larson Advisors, a New York-based
executive coaching and leadership develop-
ment firm, remains an analyst for Fox
News. He grew up in Cleveland and gradu-
ated from Pontifical University Regina
Apostolorum, a Vatican university, with a
bachelor’s degree in philosophy and ad-
vanced degree in moral theology and ethics.
He eventually reached out once more to
Ms. Folmer during Fourth of July weekend
in 2019. Ms. Folmer was in federal court in
New York at that time, working for ABC
television on the Jeffrey Epstein story,
which had exploded after Mr. Epstein’s ar-
rest on sex-trafficking charges.
“In the middle of all the craziness, I get
this text, and it’s from Jonathan,” Ms.
Folmer recalled. “I said, ‘Hey, what’s up, I
haven’t heard from you in a while.’“He explained that he had been busy with
the new job and several other things, and
asked if I’d like to go out to dinner with him.”
On July 21, they enjoyed their first dinner
together at the Shalel Lounge, another
Manhattan restaurant.
Mr. Morris said that while he was “very
much attracted to Ms. Folmer, she knew
clearly that we were not entering into any
exclusive relationship.”
While Ms. Folmer admitted “having feel-
ings for him at that time,” she also noted
that she had “a full plate to deal with regard-
ing work.”
Nevertheless, they went to dinner again
the next night — “even ex-priests have to
eat,” Mr. Morris said, laughing — before he
went back to his new life in Akron.
Whether either of them cared to admit it,
a relationship was indeed forming.
“From the time we had that second din-
ner, I heard from him at least once a day,”
Ms. Folmer said.
In the ensuing months, Ms. Folmer and
Mr. Morris became the best of friends.
“I just enjoyed getting to know him day
after day,” Ms. Folmer said. “He’s lived and
worked around the world, and to hear about
those experiences is so interesting.
“I’ve met plenty of people who I’ve triedto start a conversation with and they just
sat there and said nothing,” she added. “Just
to get a few words out of them was like
pulling teeth. But Jonathan, trust me, he
doesn’t have that problem.”
Mr. Morris said he enjoyed the fact that
“Kaitlyn got more and more comfortable
around me with each passing day.”
“She felt very free to be herself in my
company,” he said. “And in turn, she made
me feel comfortable just being myself,
which I really appreciated.”
In October, they turned a serious corner,
and it was Mr. Morris who suggested they
take their relationship to the next level. “He
just turned to me one day while we were
watching a Michigan football game and
said, ‘I just want to be with you — just you,
no one else,’ ” Ms. Folmer said.
Mr. Morris said that his budding romance
with Ms. Folmer was “a natural progres-
sion,” from his years spent wearing a white
collar.
“My faith and my religious beliefs have
not changed,” he said. “In fact, it feels more
real, more free, and Kaitlyn and I enjoy go-
ing to church together every Sunday.”
In June 2020, a year after they recon-
nected, Ms. Folmer and Mr. Morris became
engaged at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar re-
sort in San Diego.
Ms. Folmer was ecstatic. “He has always
put me first,” she said. “He’s the most
thoughtful human being I’ve ever met. He’s
calming and kind, and he brings out the best
in me. I’ve never met anyone like him be-
fore in my life.”
The couple were married Oct. 17 at one of
Mr. Morris’s old stamping grounds, St. Pat-
rick’s Cathedral in New York. Msgr. Robert
T. Ritchie, rector of the cathedral, per-
formed the ceremony before 200 family
members and friends, all of whom were so-
cially distanced and seated in every third
pew marked by flower arrangements. (A
meet-and-greet reception at 15 Hudson
Yards’ Skytop followed the ceremony,
which was followed by dinner for 50 at
Winged Foot Golf Club’s outdoor terrace in
Mamaroneck, N.Y.)
Sixteen months from first lunch to first
dance, to “Bless the Broken Road,” by Ras-
cal Flatts, the bride was asked if she would
categorize her relationship with the groom
as a whirlwind romance.
“When you know, you know,” she said.
“With Jonathan I just knew. He was that un-
forgettable.”A Trip to the Altar, on a Path Cleared by the Pope
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ELIZABETH BICK FOR THE NEW YORK TIMESKAITLYN FOLMER and JONATHAN MORRIS
At St. Patrick’s Cathedral,
a former priest takes a
new kind of vow.
ON THIS DAYWhenOct. 17, 2020
.......................................................................................
WhereSt. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York
.......................................................................................
Live, From St. Patrick’sThe cathedral
livestreamed the couple’s wedding to a private
YouTube channel mainly so that the bride’s
foster mother, Lee Jeong Ja, who lives in Seoul,
would be able to stay up late (11 p.m. her time)
and watch the wedding. When the couple
walked out of the cathedral, Cardinal Dolan was
there to greet them.
.......................................................................................
What She WoreThe bride wore the Scarlett
Gown, designed by Sareh Nouri and made of
soft alencon lace with a dramatic chapel train.
The dress had long sheer sleeves and was
adorned with a custom silk taffeta ruched
cummerbund.
.......................................................................................
What He WoreThe groom wore a Dolce and
Gabbana black tuxedo, first worn by the groom
at the world premiere of the Martin Scorsese
film “The Irishman,” in which the groom played
the role of the “young priest confessor.”By VINCENT M. MALLOZZIJonathan Morris, a Fox News
analyst and a former priest, and
Kaitlyn Folmer, an ABC News
producer, married Oct. 17 at St.
Patrick’s Cathedral. Top, the
bride’s gown drew a top-flight
crowd. Above, Cardinal
Timothy M. Dolan blessed the
couple with a hug.Sauté. Sear. Simmer. Savor.
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