‘How precious’: Internet congratulates Don Lemon as he marries longtime partner Tim Malone in NYC

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY: Don Lemon, former CNN anchor who now has his own show, 'The Don Lemon Show', married his longtime partner Tim Malone on Saturday, April 6, in New York City. 

Both Lemon and Malone have been together for a long time and now, they are officially husbands. They tied the knot in the presence of 140 guests. Malone is a real estate broker.

Don Lemon talks marriage, wedding vows

A couple of days before the wedding, the grooms told PEOPLE they weren't stressed about the big day.  

Lemon, 58, said, "I'm a last-minute person. "And most things I just don't worry about," he added.

"But this one I'm secretly worried about, but I'm letting Tim take the reins because he's a good planner."

"I'll be writing questions for like the UN ambassador and he'll be saying, ‘Oh, when are they going to put the buttons on our jackets?’ It's an important question, but I'm just like, 'Huh? What?’ So he has a million questions, but usually he gets it done without me even answering," said Lemon.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, officiated the ceremony at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in midtown Manhattan.

"She's a friend, and it means that much to us," Lemon says of having Thomas-Greenfield as their officiant.

The grooms combined marriage customs from each of their families into their own ceremony, dressing in custom suits from Suit Supply and exchanging rings made by Mark Lash.

"Tim is from a big Irish family, so we planned a big Irish blessing in there in his ceremony," Lemon says. He also notes the blessing was led by Malone’s two sisters.

Lemon adds that “at the end we jump over a broom".

According to Lemon and Malone, this honors the custom that was formerly used by enslaved people in the American South to signify their nuptials, emphasizing that it is now a method to remember those who did it before them.

Lemon and Malone have been engaged for five years, so their journey to the altar has been a lengthy one, but they both wanted a large, traditional wedding day.

"We wanted to make a public statement,” Malone said, “And we wanted to involve our loved ones. We obviously could have easily gone to city hall. We could have used Covid as a perfect excuse to do something really quiet. But I think this is also a message. For I don't know what percent of our guests, on both sides, but for a lot of them it's going to be their first gay wedding.”

However, when it came time to prepare their vows, the couple opted for a mixture of traditional and new elements.

"I have not been nervous about anything except writing the vows," Lemon reveals. "We are saying our own personal vows and then we're doing the traditional wedding ceremony vows.”

The prospect of marriage affected each of the guys differently before their wedding day. Lemon said, "I never thought that I would get married,”adding “I mean, maybe Tim's generation, he's 18 years younger than me. So for him maybe it was more of a possibility.”

He continued, "The legal part of it is a big deal because I didn't think it could happen. And for so many years of my growing up and hiding things, I never thought it could happen legally. But when you consider all the rights that people are trying to take away, I wanted to make sure that we get this done right.”

"We were pretty traditional over all,” Lemon says. “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue…”

Tim’s tuxedo is blue. Lemon's is green, both velvet and double-breasted. "I’ll have one something blue," Lemon jokes. "You just won’t be able to see it!”

Internet showers love on newly-married couple 

Several social media users poured their love on the newly-wed couple.

An Instgram user wrote, "Good for them. Love is love."

Another user said, "Wow! I thought they were already married. Congrats to the couple." 

A user wrote, "Aww... love this for them!!!!"

Another user wrote, "How precious."

A user wrote, "Congratulations!!!!! Love transcends everything!" 

A user wrote, "Things that make me happy? This!"

Another wrote, "My heart is melting.. so beautiful." 

A user wrote, "How wonderfulCongratulations."

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