After 75 Years Together, This Couple's Best Marriage Tip Is Quite Unexpected
Their marriage advice after 75 years is shockingly simple (and actually kind of genius).
Jozef Polc | Unsplash Most people dream of finding the kind of love that lasts a lifetime, but very few actually get to experience it. Sally and Joseph Littlewood — 99 and 98 years old — are living proof that it's possible. Married during World War II and still side by side nearly eight decades later, their story reads like something out of a history book and a romance novel rolled into one.
They've raised a family, survived long separations, and lived through countless cultural shifts, yet their bond has only grown stronger with time. Naturally, everyone wants to know the secret behind a love story that's lasted this long.
After 75 years together, this couple's best marriage tip is quite unexpected.
"The advice I would give to young people getting married these days is to argue lots but always remember to get over it," Sally Littlewood advised the Daily Mail.
She and her husband credit arguing for their long-lasting love. Why, you ask? Because, after an argument, they can kiss and make up.
"It is never worth stewing over. People always have arguments, and in 75 years, we are going to have had a lot, but the key is to move on," said Sally.
Take notes, people. This is relationship gold. Sally and Joseph met more than 80 years ago. To put it into perspective: the original King Kong was still in theaters, and Hitler had just come into power. They were married at the start of World War II. And they're still as loving as ever.
"Kids these days," Sally said, "move in together, not really knowing what they want from each other. If you are going to move in with someone, or marry them, you have to know you love them."
Sally attributes the high divorce rate in today's society to people not having what they want. "When we were young, people just stuck together," hubby Joseph chimed in, "but back then we had courtship and that has now gone by the wayside."
Yeah, men of today! What the heck happened to courtship? Even recent studies show that couples who meet in "old-fashioned" ways (like going out, dating in person, and courtship rituals) tend to report more satisfaction and stability than those who met mostly online. Women still want to be courted à la The Notebook. Ryan Gosling, where art thou?
Elzbieta Sekowska / Shutterstock
Our new fav real-life couple, Sally and Joseph, had a three-year engagement, which gave them plenty of time to get to know each other. Joseph wooed her by buying her a Mars chocolate bar after a dance where "all the boys would stand at one end and the girls at the other." She was twelve. Who needs diamonds? Chocolate is the real way to a lady's heart.
"I will always remember us dancing before he took me on a walk and bought me a Mars bar. He was from a posh family, and we were really poor — he just charmed me off my feet," Sally said. The Notebook. Swoon. "He worked in finance, and I worked 6:30 am to 5 pm every day at the [cotton] mill. After that, we fell in love," she continued.
Weeks after their wedding in 1939, Joseph enlisted in the army, and they didn't see each other until the end of the war in 1945. Despite spending their first six years of marriage apart, "we wrote love letters to each other because it was the only way we could cope," Sally said. "I would just tell him what I was up to and that I loved him."
Sally and Joseph have two children — 68-year-old Wyn and 66-year-old Terence. Wyn commented on her parents' everlasting love: "Unless things were really, really bad between married couples, it used to be the case that they would try to stay together through thick and thin. I think the thing about my parents is that they just try really hard, and they keep working at it."
The moral of the story is that relationships are hard work, but a large study shows that people who put in effort tend to feel more satisfied and stable in their marriages. "My parents hit the jackpot," Wyn said. Happy Anniversary, Sally and Joseph. We can only hope to hit the jackpot one day, too.
Macy Daniela Martin is a freelance lifestyle writer and former contributor to YourTango, who has been featured in Brit + Co, POPSUGAR, Covetour, and more.
