A 62-year marriage filled with laughter and love took center stage as the couple reminisced about their first date and the lessons they've learned over the years.
It is not easy to get along with someone when it comes to spending your entire life together. While most people dream of growing old with their partners, not all couples are able to make it to the end. Every relationship faces challenges; all it requires is mutual understanding to navigate through them. Wearing their 62 years of wisdom proudly, an experienced couple strolling down a street in Belfast, Northern Ireland, shared a beautiful message for young lovers. Hazel and Jim’s unbreakable bond was captured by storyteller and photographer Christopher Ward, who is popularly known as @modelstrangers on Instagram.
In the video, the romantic couple was approached by Ward, who admired their chemistry and complimented them for looking "lovely" while holding hands. "I just saw you walking and you looked very happy," he told Hazel, the 85-year-old woman, who smiled and agreed. When the photographer praised them for still being in love after all these years, Jim jokingly responded, "No, that was me laying the rules." His witty remark brought a smile to Hazel's face, and she playfully declared herself the real "rule maker" in their relationship.
The elderly couple has remained strong and together for 62 years. "We’ve known each other since about 1956, and our first date was on the Dodgems (bumper cars)," Hazel shared, adding that after the ride, Jim asked her for another. "We make each other laugh every day. Jim just says funny things, makes me laugh and sings me songs," she continued. This led Ward to ask, "What songs?" "I wish I was 18 again," she revealed with a smile at Jim, who is two years younger than his wife.
“We met when he was only 14 and I was almost 16. I’m a cougar,” Hazel recalled, leaving the photographer in stitches. Ward’s next question to Jim was about his wife’s favorite thing. Keeping up with the playful banter, Jim responded, "She does what she’s told." Amused, Hazel shot back, standing next to her husband, "Wait ‘till I get you home."
Hazel then shared more about the couple’s “first date” on the Dodgems, which was also their first meeting. “Jim had come to the funfair with his friends, and I went with my mum, dad, and a friend. The two of us, including my buddy, fancied the same boy. This (pointing at Jim) was that boy’s friend,” she explained, and the rest, as they say, is history. Hazel wrapped up the one-and-a-half-minute heartwarming interaction with an important message: “We’ve had our troubles, and I don’t care what anybody says. Everybody has to have a row.”
Ward finally asked the couple when they had their last row. "This morning," Hazel replied with a smile. At the end of the conversation, she wished Ward well, praying that he would find his love soon. People in the comments were in awe. @patynha_8 commented, “Not me tearing up on the bus in the best way possible. It reminds me of my grandparents and the love they shared for so many decades. They remain my romantic ideal to this day.” “I'm going to miss that generation when they are gone. They have kept us all anchored,” @janerio1 added.
View this post on Instagram
You can follow Christopher Ward (@modelstrangers) on Instagram for more photography-related and wholesome content.