Marrying Irving is a metaphor coined by a participant in Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten's weekly online chat, "Chatological Humor" on February 8, 2005. The term specifically references the comic strip Cathy by Cathy Guisewite. On Valentine's Day, February 14, 2004 Irving, Cathy's long-time love-interest proposed marriage. They were married almost a year later on February 5, 2005; the strip, which had been in print since 1976, ended October 3, 2010.