We will be married for 20 years in August. I am 56 and my husband is 64. This was my first marriage and his second. We have 5 children and 8 grandchildren.

A very warm thank you to each and every one of you that have shared your longtime love stories. I enjoyed reading them all.

It affirmed my opinion that there must be more committed happily marrieds than those "on the prowl" at our advanced age. Each post was wonderful to read. When one has the comfort and love of a soulmate, their life is full.

Longevity in a marriage is also a strong foundation and "example" for the next generation, both the children and grandchildren who are growing up in this disposable era.

I still remember receiving from both of our children, first our daughter and later our son, hand written thoughtful letters when they were each about juniors in college.........not sure what possessed them to write at that time, but they did........expressing thanks for us staying "together" and providing a strong foundation of "family" for them when all around them their friends were experiencing broken homes.

We received similar, but different, letters of thanks on each of their wedding days,............similiarly thanking us for providing love and support to them and for staying together in our marriage which provided a good example to them. Those words meant more than a million bucks to me.

We took our marriage and our parenting seriously and were never "party animals". Family was everything. It still is.

Again, I thank you for reinforcing my own feelings.....by sharing yours.

I know there will be more to come..........and thanks again, in advance of those new remembrances of happy long term marriages amongst the Villagers.

I'd say we are all pretty lucky.......

the kid and I, I call her kid because she keeps reminding me that she is 7 months younger than me are having our 51st anniversay this month. Its been the happiest 10 years of my life::1rotfl:

My wife and I are 76 and 74 and have been married for 46 years. This is my second marriage and my wifes first.

John

I have been married to my trophy wife, Lila for 46 years. We are both 67 years young, and are snowbirds for now.

25 years out of 39 ain't bad! Still going strong

so let's extend the thread/modify it by asking what accounts for long lasting marriages? How is it with all the problems associated with raltionships and distractions can two people stay together for so long?

Steve and I have only been married 5 years but his parents, who live with us, just had their 73rd anniversary in March...and they are still very much in love. She got mad at him one day and told him to remind her tomorrow that she wanted a divorce.

66 and 65 married 47 years

I've always thought of this scene from the Henry Fonda-Lucille Ball movie "Yours, Mine & Ours" (1968), when friends of ours (almost always the wife) said, "We're getting divorced.......He's just not "in love" with me anymore....."

I like this definition of what marital love is:

What Love Really Is Scene from Yours, Mine and Ours Movie (1968) | MOVIECLIPS

ilovetv: thank you so very much. I wish the younger generation could understand this love story but unfortuantely the hollywood trolls wanted their perverse version to max profits.

The moviecip says it all. By the way when Ricardo Montaban (actor) was aked about latin lovers his response to Johnny Carson was as any dog knows quantity in love making is a simple thing. However a great lover is a man who can keep one woman happy all of her life. Best answer I ever heard.

My better half keeps me balanced, makes me laugh and is my very best friend. Your turn

OK, if we are now sharing the secrets to marital longevity, I'd say it all comes down to just one thing: Trust.

For the last 45 years we've come to trust and depend on each other for a lot of things in our daily lives. We know that is there to support us when we need support.

Only a fool would throw that away.

I think being best friends first, before things get all physical, is key, because over time the physical self and physical stuff goes to pot and your mind always needs the right person to talk with and share everything.

Hollywood trolls wanting their perverse version of love to max profits is right. They have made it ALL about surgically-formed outer beauty, getting celebrity status from dumping all your dirty laundry on stage and before the tabloid cameras, fame, and money gotten by ANY means possible--ethically OR illicitly....either way is fine!

Case in point: The Octomom......This is a Hollywood product right here. Instead of shunning this woman and her aberrant actions to "make a family", they have catapulted her to fame.....

"This investigation started when Octomom earned $200,000 in 2012, but then applied for welfare. If Octomom earned less than $119,000 that year then she has the right to welfare. But if she made more than that in 2012, then there’s a problem.

Octomom’s home and the style she accustomed to living in would be hard to maintain on even $200,000 a year. How she can do this on just welfare is bound to be one of the questions that will come up in this investigation.

Octomom’s welfare assistance made the headlines, but so did her porn movie, stripper gigs, topless pictures and many interviews, like the one she did for Howard Stern. All of these above activities had to net her a pretty penny....."

http://www.examiner.com/article/octo...-of-14?cid=rss

It's cheaper to keep her?

The secret is having the ability to forgive your spouse and yourself when mistakes are made---and there will be some in a long relationship. In our long-term marriage, Faith in God has played a huge role, especially, during those "valley" experiences.