A case that made headlines in late Feb, was the chilling story of Thomas P, an avid Alpine climber who left his girlfriend to freeze on Grossglockner (Austria’s highest peak) when she could no longer continue the climb.

Funny thing is, he did the exact same thing to a previous girlfriend two years prior - but she thankfully survived - and broke things off (obviously!)

He’s now been found guilty of manslaughter, & this story sparked a wave - multiple women began sharing accounts of how they too were victims of this apparently common relationship phenomenon.

No, really - a search of 'alpine divorce' on social media will give you dozens of eerily similar stories:

⁠Laurie Singer was abandoned by a man she 'fully' trusted on a 222-mile trek on a famous, grueling trail in California.

Another woman said her boyfriend left her mid-hike in the Grand Canyon.

Yet another was stranded for two days on a mountain when her ex decided his pace mattered more than her safety.

So are men just murderous in the mountains...or is there something more?

I think this goes deeper than just impatience (or sudden psychological imbalance). It signals something more concerning to a relationship - a deep unwillingness to be the person that will be there 'for better or worse'.

It may have been unnoticeable in the happy, healthy successful times.
It might have reared its head in mildly uncomfortable scenarios.
But it wholly exposed itself in life-or-death situations.

What does it show?

The importance of vetting a person, especially someone meant to be your protector, BEFORE you commit to him for the long-haul.

Some women might feel the need to always show their “best side” - afraid of turning a guy off by showing sickness or imperfections - but that's literally what his job description is!

If your future spouse refuses to be strong when you are weak - whether it’s caring for you when you’re battling a stomach bug, or keeping you safe & protected on a long hike - then do yourself a HUGE favor and walk away.

At the end of the day, someone who can’t deal with you at your ‘for worse’, should NEVER get the privilege of partaking in your ‘for better’.

Meet-cute (noun): a chance encounter; a charming or unexpected first meeting between two people that sets a relationship in motion.

You know exactly what that looks like.

Two people reaching for the same thing.

Their hands brush.

Eye contact lingers a second too long.

And suddenly… there’s background music that wasn’t there before.

That this-is-important-but-we-don’t-know-why-yet energy.

The kind of moment that feels scripted.

When FX and Hulu dropped Love Story: JFK Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, people didn’t just watch it, they got pulled into it.

And it’s not hard to see why.

The world loves a glittering cinematic love story.

The whirlwind romance forged in the spotlight, fueled by fame, fortune and beauty. and the electric chemistry between the most glamorous meet cutes of the 90s.

Everyone was posting about the candle-lit New York nights, Calvin Klein minimalism, paparazzi-chased passion - and that “old world” love that felt authentic, slower… almost sacred.

A lot of younger viewers got hit with anemoia - that nostalgia for a pre-smartphone, analog era they never actually lived.

And somewhere in the middle of all that, many of us paused and thought: Man… why doesn’t my life feel like this?

But here’s the part the viral clips and TikTok supercuts don’t focus on.

What the cameras captured as “epic” wasn’t so in real life.

Sudden fame crushed Carolyn’s privacy and peace.

The constant gaze of the world strained their marriage.

The plane crash in 1999 brought the story to a tragic end.

This Love Story exposed the exhaustion and the fragility of a relationship when it’s built on sand. IYKYK.

Still, the world hands us stories like this and quietly says: “This is what love looks like.”

The Bible offers a totally different vision for love and marriage.

The Author and Finisher would like a word.

Long before dating apps, “you up?” texts and even the ‘90s, God was orchestrating ‘meet-cutes’ with camels, fields, and, most importantly, shy, often flawed, and oblivious, ordinary people.

Let me tell you about three of them (not all romantic) that prove when God writes the story, He sees it through.