This couple is the definition of timeless! Former US President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn are celebrating 73 years of marriage.
Jimmy was on break from the Naval Academy in the 1940s when he first asked Rosalynn one a date to the movies. He told the Washington Post that he instantly knew she was the one for him by the next morning, and the couple went on to wed in 1946.
Married during the Truman administration, Jimmy, then 21, and Rosalynn, 18, used a secret text-like code to signal their love: “ILYTG”, meaning ‘I love you the goodest’ – something that the former POTUS’s parents used to affectionately say.
The couple, who have been married a staggering 73 years, are 111 days short of holding the record for the longest married presidential couple, behind George H.W. Bush and wife Barbara who were married for 73 years and 111 days. They even beat Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip by a few months, who celebrated their 72nd anniversary last November.
Nowadays, the couple lives simply in the house they owned before entering the White House: a Georgia ranch. But despite being in their 90s and recent health concerns, they continue their work with the Carter Center and still help out with one of their favourite charities: Habitat for Humanity.
Congratulations to the iconic couple!