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The 39th president of the United States, Jimmy Carter, and his wife Rosalynn are celebrating their 75th wedding anniversary today.
Mr. Carter was fresh out of the US Naval Academy when he wanted to marry his neighbour's daughter, Rosalynn Smith, whom he met on the day she was born and knew primarily as his sister Ruth's best friend.
He asked her for a date, which she rejected, again and again.
"I was distressed," said Mrs. Carter, who hesitated to say yes, adamant to keep a promise to her late father on his death bed to finish her studies at college.
"After a while, I changed my mind," she said.
Their romance began when they went on a double date to the movies, and found themselves squeezed in the backseat of an old ford.
Once Mrs. Carter finished her studies at college, the couple married in a Methodist church in Plains, Georgia on July 7, 1946
Their relationship has withstood not just the test of time, but of patience, raising a family and the glare of the political spotlight, especially when Carter started his presidential campaign in 1976.
But the glare soon faded when he lost the election in 1980, failing to secure a second term. The couple then returned to their quiet and comfortable life in Plains, where they remain today, in a house they built in 1961.
"We've just grown closer and closer together," said Mr. Carter.
The Carters are now celebrating their anniversary in Plains High School, now a museum of Mr. Carter's life and work, down the road from where they live, with a 'few hundred' relatives.
"I think we have too many people coming," said Mr. Carter, chuckling.
Mrs. Carter, now a great-grandmother, said she was looking forward to meeting her first grandchild, now three.
Mr. Carter reflects on his relationship with his wife and one true love:
“I know for my sake,” Mr. Carter said, “it’s been the best thing I’ve ever had happen to me — marrying Rosalynn and living together for so long, growing to know each other more and more intimately every day in married life.”
“I’ve been very happy,” he said, letting out a little laugh, “and I love her more now than I did to begin with — which is saying a lot, because I loved her a lot.”
Their advice for a long-lasting relationship? Never go to bed angry.
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