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Every so often Governor Andrew Cuomo makes his daily press briefings a family affair. In recent weeks, he has had his youngest daughter with ex-wife Kerry Kennedy, Micaela Kennedy-Cuomo, 22, there to discuss the importance of staying home and his 25-year-old daughter Cara has been working with him to procure equipment for New York, so it was no surprise to see Cara’s twin sister Mariah seated at the table during his April 19th briefing. In addition to his update on how New York is faring with the coronavirus, the #dadgirl had an important message for all fathers out there when it comes to their daughters bringing home their significant other.
The 62-year-old politician made the point when he revealed that not only has Mariah returned to Albany after self-isolating elsewhere, but she brought her boyfriend home too. “The boyfriend is very nice, and we like the boyfriend,” he started. “Advice to fathers: the answer on what you think of the boyfriend is always, ‘I like the boyfriend.’ Always, because there’s only two options. Either you like the boyfriend, in which case you say, ‘I like the boyfriend,’ or you don’t like the boyfriend. You can never say you don’t like the boyfriend otherwise it triggers NDS.”
With a smile on his face and his daughter seated nearby, the oldest Cuomo brother went on to explain exactly what that stands for. “NDS is ‘Natural Defiance Syndrome.’ It’s not documented, but it is a psychological condition where if you say as a father, ‘I don’t like him,’ natural defiance syndrome kicks in and then they like the boyfriend more because he is opposed by the father, so the answer has to be ‘I like the boyfriend.’”
Once returning to their home, the governor, who has admitted to not picking up his mother Matilda’s skills in the kitchen like his brother Chris, shared an image of their Sunday dinner that included Mariah’s love Tellef Lundevall. After all, growing up, that final meal of the week was always the most important. “Today is Sunday, and I come from an Italian-American household where we had a great tradition on Sundays,” he shared. “The family had come together at the table… we’re going to be at dinner with the boyfriend, and we’re going to have our spaghetti and our meatballs.”
Since the global pandemic started, many other traditions have been affected like couples having to postpone or cancel their weddings. Over the weekend, the “Love Gov” also announced an executive order allowing New Yorkers who wish to not postpone their big day that they can now get legally married by video. “There is now no excuse for when the question comes up about marriage,” he said. “You can do it by Zoom, yes or no.” And if you are lucky enough, Cuomo added he is able to perform ceremonies!