Is This Wedding Even Legal?: Marysol Patton's Third Wedding Ceremony
Another week of watching Real Housewives of Miami, and I am asking - is this real?
This 2025 season has already exploded with the surprise divorce (but perhaps reconciliation) between Alexia and Todd. She loves him, she hates him, they are together, they are apart. Julia and Martina have adopted two boys. Lisa is still complaining about her ex, Lenny, and the challenges of co-parenting. The Miami cast is keeping their legal community busy with their issues. But, amongst all the legal difficulties related to divorce, we have a wedding to celebrate.
Lifelong Miami resident and socialite, Marysol Patton, and her beau Steve, rode his Harley Davidson motorcycle to and from the Coral Gable Courthouse for their “legal” wedding. Marysol, a successful public relations professional, claimed that she and Steve McNamara, a construction company owner, needed to make it legal and binding since their previous ceremonies were just that: “ceremonies”.
The first ceremony happened during an April 2021 trip to Tulum, Mexico after they had a spiritual cleansing with a shaman. Then there was a 2023 event at a castle in Glasgow, Scotland. It seems that neither the Mexican nor the Scottish ceremony included any required paperwork nor officiants. Hopefully the third time is the charm; this third ceremony appeared to have happened at a South Florida courthouse.
Three may just be Marysol’s number. This is her third marriage and her third ceremony to Steve. Fans of the show may remember from the early seasons that Marysol married her second husband Phillipe, in 2010, in a breathtaking wedding high atop the snow-covered mountains of Aspen, Colorado. Similarly, there were three in attendance: Marysol, her husband, and their minister.
Marysol, who is estimated to be worth $15 million, does not likely need the financial security that marriage may bring. However, she shared that she needed to formalize her arrangement with long time love Steve since they’re getting older and they would need to take care of each other, make healthcare decisions, and comingle their money as they both matured.
Some may ask without the legal courthouse ceremony between Marysol and Steve, would they be considered married by common law? The answer would be no. Actually, there are only nine states that recognize common law marriage. Most states have passed laws actually abolishing common law marriage. Florida outlawed common law marriage in 1968 when Marysol was just a mere one year old child.
There are legal and social advantages to being married: income tax breaks, social security benefits, favorable inheritance laws and allowances, and health care benefits and perks. Research also supports the idea that married people tend to live longer and are healthier and happier.
I wish Marysol and Steve all the best. Although I am a divorce lawyer, I love love. I love weddings. All of the Rosen lawyers I work with are married. But, when I am not working on a client’s case, I will be watching Housewives, including Marysol, enjoying my popcorn. And, if she needs help with a third divorce, we are here to help.