Photo: Vivian Starr / Facebook
True love never dies.
By NyRee Ausler — Written on Dec 11, 2022
A Charlotte, North Carolina couple — Jim and Vivian Starr — have defied the odds by finding love again and reconnecting after fifty long years apart.
The pair first met at Dudley High School, located in Greensboro, North Carolina.
They started dating, but their young romance was interrupted when Jim's mother, a New Jersey resident, fell ill and needed him to care for her.
Jim says, "I had to tell Vivian I had to go home to New Jersey to take care of my mother and of course she started crying, and I told her I’d be back, but I didn’t know it was going to take 50 years to get back to her."
Vivian Starr was pregnant with Jim's child when he left to care for his mother.
To add to the pain of separation, Vivian found out she was pregnant not too long after the love of her life left.
She desperately wanted to share the news with him and raise their child together.
Unfortunately, the internet and cell phones were non-existent fifty years ago, so despite her desire to contact Jim, Vivian could not track him down.
Eventually, she gave up and settled in to raise her daughter as a single parent mother, but was still hopeful that one day, Jim would come back into her life.
For his part, Jim embarked on a career in radio, traveling all over the United States to gain experience.
During his radio days, he decided to change his last name from Spate to Starr, making locating him even more difficult.
After fifty years, Jim retired and decided that he wanted to return to Greensboro to live out his golden years.
When he considered returning to where he grew up, memories of Vivian, the one that got away, filled his head.
Jim enlisted the help of a friend to find her and in no time, received pictures from Vivian’s Facebook profile.
The friend prepped him by saying, “Jim, I’m going to send you her picture. She’s gorgeous, let me know if it’s the same woman.”
Once Jim saw the photos, he was certain he had located her.
He told his friend, “Oh my God, she’s gorgeous. My friend, that’s her!”
Before he reached out, they confirmed that Vivian was unmarried and available.
Jim started by sending a handwritten letter, something that surely reminded his childhood sweetheart of the love they once shared in simpler times.
When Vivian got the letter, she was shocked and unsure what to think.
She was unaware that the man she never stopped thinking about had changed his name and hadn’t heard from him in decades.
Her daughter confirmed that Jim was in fact, the man that had disappeared so many years ago.
Excited and curious, Vivian immediately invited him over for dinner.
In true fairytale fashion, it was love at first sight when the couple laid their eyes on one another.
They wasted no time making their connection permanent and were married on September 18, 2021.
Jim shared how he was feeling on their wedding day.
He confessed, “Of course, I was very nervous. Getting married to Vivian, it’s been so long, and it brought back a lot of fond memories of us dating back then.”
The reunion was the gift that kept on giving as Jim found out that he had fathered a daughter with Vivian and now, in his 70s has a loving family to make up for lost time with.
Surprisingly, Vivian recognized she had been listening to Jim on the radio for many years and never knew it was him because his voice had matured since high school.
Many people spent their entire lives pining away for a love that once was.
Jim and Vivian have found each other once again and will finally have the happily ever after they deserve.
NyRee Ausler is a writer from Seattle, Washington, and the author of seven books. She covers lifestyle and entertainment & news, as well as navigating the workplace and social issues.