Tiffany Thornton is more than just a former Disney star. She’s a mother and, both now and in the past, a wife.
Just two years ago, Tiffany became a widow when her husband died in a tragic accident. That she’s been able to find love and now remarry is wonderful.
Unfortunately, some vile trolls tried to give her a hard time, and have even sunk so low as to question whether she ever loved her first husband.
Back in 2015, Chris Carney, who had starred in the MTV reality series twentyfourseven, was struck and killed in a deadly automobile collision.
Chris’ marriage to Tiffany hadn’t been perfect.
In May of 2014, Chris Carney accused Tiffany Thornton of abducting their children when she departed with them to stay at her parents.
His claims were undercut when his own mother, the mayor of Hot Springs, Arkansas, shared that Carney had a serious drinking problem and that she had assisted Tiffany in leaving.
That conflict didn’t last forever, however, and Tiffany was well and truly devastated when Chris Carney died. It was so sudden and senseless, just like all vehicular collisions.
(Seriously, can self-driving cars dominate roadways sooner rather than later? I, for one, look forward to when fatal car accidents become rare news instead of a regular occurrence)
The former Sunny With A Chance actress who had starred alongside Demi Lovato was working as a radio host by that point, and her friends and listeners mourned with her.
Fastforward to just a few days ago …
Tiffany Thornton got married!
Josiah Capici is a pastor and now her new husband.
Along with one of her wedding photos, Tiffany shared a lengthy caption in which she hit back at her haters (despite saying that her love trumped her need to “snap back” at them, so this is one of those responses that’s “not” a response).
In the post, she defends her love, her new marriage, and cites her faith as a huge and powerful force in her life. Which, you know, isn’t super surprising since she’s marrying a pastor.
“This. This is love. That all encompassing, enduring, accepting, near perfect love. The kind that trumps my need to snap back at people who have the audacity to comment on my Instagram about whether I loved my first husband or not,” she wrote.
Obviously, anyone shaming a woman for remarrying is a special sort of scum.
Especially when her wedding is two years after her husband’s death. Is she supposed to throw herself on the fire, too?
Tiffany continues:
“But let me take a moment to explain something to you. There is no timeline for grief or for when God moves in your life in undeniable ways. There are a lot of people who think it isn’t good to be transparent on social media but I say forget that.”
We’re all about transparency on social media for celebrities.
“I’m going to be open and honest because God wants me to. It’s part of my testimony and it needs to be said. I was a mess yesterday during our wedding ceremony. So many emotions flooded my heart as I walked down those balcony steps to the arms of my gift from God.”
But she also thought of her late husband, even as she walked down the aisle.
“I thought of Chris watching us and knowing he would have loved the choice I made, for me and for the boys. I thought of Chris’s amazing parents sitting front row and how much of a blessing they have been and will forever be in our lives.”
She and Chris had a couple of kids together, too. Pastor Josiah is joining their family.
“How happy they are for the boys and I and how much they already love Josiah. I am so completely humbled by the love I receive from this man. Jo came along EXACTLY when God knew I needed him.”
It’s not unusual for people to say that their love is divinely ordained.
This is where Tiffany’s words take a weird turn, however.
“It wasn’t my choice to fall in love so quickly after chris passed but I was growing so comfortable with being alone that it was becoming unhealthy. Looking back now I think God saw that if I went too long without love that it would become increasingly difficult for me to submit to the authority of a husband after being set in my own ways.”
Like, the part about spending too much time alone is fine — that can be a symptom of depression, even.
But “submit to the authority of a husband” … what the everloving flip does that mean? That sounds like something from The Handmaid’s Tale.
That phrase is going to echo in our nightmares.
Anyway, Tiffany continues, saying things that don’t sound like lines said by small-town characters in horror movies that end in human sacrifice.
“When I say ‘Jo is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me’ that in no way indicates that I didn’t love my first husband with all that I had. How dare any one of you judge me and say that on a social platform,” she says.
Yeah, claims that she didn’t love her first husband because she’s in love with her current one are preposterous and deliberately hurtful.
“It doesn’t make you any better of a person to cast judgment on others and sit in the seat of mockers. I will always love chris and jo knows that. And I will always love Jo.”
We’ll try to remember “sit in the seat of mockers,” which is a little clunky but a good line.
“The beautiful thing about love is that it multiplies as new blessings come into your life. I don’t have to share one bucket of love with the special people in my life. Each one has their own bucket. Get it? Isn’t that amazing?? God’s timing is not our own. And I praise Him for that. You should too.”
That’s a fantastic way of viewing the world, honestly!
Love is not supposed to be a competition! Well … except on The Bachelor.
