Couple who fell in love at the age of nine still together 85 years later
Thomas and Irene Howard met when they were just nine years old, and 85 years on, they’re just as besotted with one another as ever. Last year, the couple recounted their epic love story to the Mirror as they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.
The sweet couple met in 1931, when Thomas, whose grandmother lived four doors down from Irene and her family, became friends with her brother Frank. “I would go regularly go ‘round to Irene’s house to call for Frank so we could out to play but Irene’s mother got fed up of me turning up day after day,” the now-94-year-old said. “In the end she joked ‘it’s not our Frank you want, it’s Irene,’ and she was right.
“I was only about nine then and when I first saw Irene I thought, ‘what a lovely girl, she’s going to be my girl, this one,’ and my fondness for her grew since then.
“We would go out walking together in the local parks and became inseparable best friends. Later we would go to the cinema and see films starring Clark Gable and would sit in the back row holding hands.”
The two were inseparable, until World War II broke out and Thomas was called to duty at the age of 19. He proposed to Irene, now 92, as soon as he came home, and the pair wed on 2nd June, 1945.
So, 85 years on and more in love than ever before, what’s their secret to a happy marriage? “Throughout our lives together we have only shown each other respect and good manners and I think of lot of youngsters could learn a lot from that,” Thomas said. “We're still in love all these years on. I still have her now and I'm proud of her. “If I was fortunate enough to do it all again, I'd marry the same girl every time.”
How sweet is that? Have you experienced a love like this before? Share your story with us in the comments below.
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