When asked about the "secret" of a couple who have been together for a full 83 years, both answered in one voice: "love."
The British daily the Guardian on the 8th (local time) told the story of Lyle Gittens, 108, and Eleanor Gittens, 107, who have the longest-running marriage in the world.
Longevity research institute Gerongevity Quest on the 4th officially recognized the Gittens as the "world's longest-married couple." The decision came after cross-checking decades of records, including a marriage certificate, census records, and personal documents.
The previous record holder was Brazil's Dino couple, who had been married for 85 years, but after one spouse died last month, the Gittens succeeded them as the "longest-living married couple in the world."
Their connection began in 1941 at the gymnasium of Clark Atlanta University in Georgia, United States.
Eleanor first met Lyle when she went to watch a game in which he, then a basketball player, was playing. She recalled, "I don't remember which team won. But I vividly remember seeing Lyle for the first time that day."
The two soon fell in love, but World War II separated them.
Lyle had been drafted into the U.S. Army and was in training, and on June 4, 1942, he received just a three-day leave and held a wedding in Georgia. In an era of severe racial discrimination, he had to ride an African American–only railcar and travel overnight. Only the excitement of a new groom made him forget the fatigue.
Right after the wedding, Eleanor became pregnant with their first child, but as her husband was deployed to the Italian front with the U.S. Army's 92nd Infantry Division, she endured an anxious time. Moving to New York, she gave birth near her in-laws' home and supported herself alone while working at an aircraft parts company.
Even during the war, they comforted each other by exchanging letters, and only after the war ended could they finally be together.
After the war, the couple started a stable life by taking jobs side by side at a New York government agency. At age 69, Eleanor achieved her dream of late learning by earning a doctorate in urban education from Fordham University in New York.
The couple now live with their daughter in Miami, Florida.
Holding his wife's hand tightly, Lyle said, "I can't believe we've become the oldest couple," adding, "I'm happy that I can stay by my wife's side."
The era the Gittens lived through together was war, racial discrimination, and enormous change in American society. Yet through all those twists and turns, they remained together for one reason: love.
Eleanor and Lyle's story, spanning a century, once again proves that "love is stronger than time."