A Boston marathon runner has been left very red in the face after deciding to kiss a stranger in the crowd, only to discover her was married!
Barbara Tatge was dared by her daughter to kiss a spectator as the Boston marathon route took her through Wellesley.
The dare stemmed from a tradition which sees women of the local college offer kisses to runners.
Ms Tatge picked a lucky fellow out the crowd and the tender moment was captured on camera.
Having rather enjoyed the kiss, Ms Tatge recruited the local paper to find her mystery man.
After attempting to search for him, she was greeted with a letter from his WIFE.
The man’s other half sent a letter to the town’s local newspaper, writing: “When this story aired on the news we were pretty surprised. For me, I’m not mad. Believe me, our friends have gotten a lot of mileage out of this story and I have thoroughly enjoyed watching them give my husband grief.
“While this may not be the ending that you had hoped for, that spontaneous, silly moment in Wellesley captured the fun, energy and spirit of the Boston Marathon. I greatly admire your spunk and courage and wish you many happy races in the future. Congratulations on your Boston finish!”
Ms Tatge responded with an apology, but maintained that the kiss had come from a good place.
She told The Townsman: “The letter was so kind and good-hearted. She’s a great sport, and he’s fortunate to be married to someone like her.
“I just wanted her to know that the media firestorm stemmed form my living daughter’s good-hearted dare. I didn’t want to cause discomfort to him or his family.
“Moving forward, I’m going to revert to only kissing single men.”
Would you be as forgiving? Let us know in the comments box below.