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Thurgood Marshall became the nation’s first black Supreme Court justice in 1967, the Beatles sang about Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band, and it was the last time a sitting Florida Governor got married after taking office. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, Florida’s current bachelor chief executive appears excited about the change in his life this Friday.

Hear it Here: Goin’ to the Chapel, and Crist’s Gonna Get Married

Governor Claude Kirk showed up at his January 1967 inaugural ball with a woman he would only identify as Madam X. She was 33-year-old Ericka Mattfield. The two were married before the year was out. Like Charlie Crist’s impending vows, the press was kept out. In a year end interview, the current governor says that he and Carol Rome, his bride to be, will split their time between three Florida cities.

“I look forward to her spending a lot of time at the mansion,” Crist said. “I also rent a place in St. Petersburg, she also owns a home in Miami. So between those three, that’s where we’ll be.”

Crist met 39-year-old Carol Rome through mutual friends in New York. He and others describe her as caring and compassionate.

“She’s got a great heart and cares deeply about children,” he said. “We went to a March of Dimes event, for example, this weekend. So I think things like that will come natural to Carol.”

The soon-to-be first lady has two daughters from a previous marriage. They attend school in New York. So it’s unclear if the sound of young children will grace the Governor’s mansion anytime soon.

Crist has been a bachelor since a brief marriage in 1980.

Most details of the wedding, including the guest list, are being kept secret.
A pool reporter will be at the wedding, but no television cameras will be allowed inside the church.