So nice, her name came up twice.
Married couple Nicole Marie Skutelnik, 35, and Nicole Marie LaCroce, 37, have the same first and middle names, so when they had to decide on a last name, they had to come up with a creative solution.
The couple, who met in 2021 on an LGBTQ dating app, didn’t even realize they had the same middle name until two weeks later, when they added each other on Facebook.
Rather than adopt the same last name, they decided to forego it entirely and keep each on their own to avoid further confusion for others.
“I know for Italian girls born in the ’80s, Marie is the second most generic name,” LaCroce told South West News Service.
“So [after I found her on Facebook] I asked her: ‘Are you the type of Italian with the middle name Marie?’ and the answer was, ‘Yes!’ “
However, according to SWNS, both LaCroce and Skutelnik find the odd coincidence amusing as it shows how much they have in common: LaCroce even goes by Nikki for short, while Skutelnik goes by Nic.
Before the wedding, they thought about using both last names and connecting them with a hyphen, but later decided against it.
Still, they admit that her name has left some people in her life—and strangers—a bit baffled.
When they tied the knot last October in a virtual ceremony, some guests got confused about who Nicole was addressing, including LaCroce’s father.
“My dad couldn’t make it, so he Facetimed us,” she explained. “He was confusing who he was talking to!”
The happy couple just laughed.
“It was really fun during our wedding ceremony,” LaCroce said.
“The number of times the officiant said, ‘Nicole Marie,’ I wish I had counted.”
Despite the fact that they have been together for several years, they admitted to SWNS that whenever their common name is mentioned, it is hard to figure out which one of them is being spoken of.
Things also get murky for the couple when they travel together, as it causes some bewilderment when they have to present their identification documents.
Previously, they had to travel a lot, as Skutelnik lived in Vancouver, Canada, while LaCroce lived in Pennsylvania. Now they both live together in Vancouver.
“One time we crossed the border together and the guy asked, ‘Which one of you is Nicole?’ and we both raised our hands,” LaCroce explained.
“Then he asked, ‘Who is Nicole Marie?’ – and we both raise our hands again.”
They admitted that, at first, that kind of interaction bothered them a bit, but now they can still have a good laugh about it.
“We roll our eyes, but we’re both light-hearted people, so we laugh about it,” LaCroce said.
In the future, the two do not plan to have children, but joked that if they ever did, they would want to name their daughter “Nicole Marie” and also give them a different last name.
“We don’t get too confused anymore and if we do, it’s fun,” Skutelnik said.
“But it compounds exactly how much we have in common!”
And, oddly enough, the Nicole Maries aren’t the only ones who’ve had the same name in common before.
Last February, a mom went viral on TikTok after revealing that everyone in her immediate family has the same middle name: Lauren.
Another couple, Kevin and Kellie, gave their daughter a combination of their first names and named her Kevleigh.