Whichever be the case, these stories are the reason people wouldn’t give up on love no matter how much they have been burned in the quest of finding a romantic partner. Without a doubt, it feels good to be loved and there is nothing wrong with searching for it. However, it is foolish to let the desire for love cloud your judgment and get you in a mess that threatens to ruin your life. But then, that’s probably none of our business and definitely not why we are here. Let’s tell the story of love: the following are some of the greatest romantic love stories ever told.
17. K.T. Robbins and Jeannine Pierson
In 2009, K.T. Robbins and Jeannine Pierson made headlines for reuniting after 75 years of being apart. Robbins met and fell in love with Pierson in 1944 after he was stationed in northeast France during the 2nd World War. At some point, he was moved to fight on the eastern front which separated him and Pierson. He couldn’t reconnect with the French woman after the war was over and eventually returned to the United States where he got married and accepted that he would never get to see Jeannine again. Nevertheless, he kept the black-and-white picture of Jeannine which he showed to a French television station that interviewed him about his experience during the war while commemorating the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. Through this, 97-year-old Robbins and 92-year-old Pierson got to meet again. They shared a hug and admitted that they had had each other in their minds all through.
16. Aaron Long and Jessica Share
How Aaron Long and Jessica Share fell in love is one of the most fascinating romantic love stories in recent times. It began with Jessica Share and her ex-wife who got married and opted to have babies through an anonymous sperm donor legally barred from seeking custody of the child. Share carried the first child named Alice Mikell and her ex-wife carried the second named Soren. Both of the kids were donor-conceived and the sperm came from the same man. A while after the lesbian partners had their second daughter, their marriage ended and Share’s wife left with Soren. Longing for her sister, Alice became curious about her genealogy and had a DNA test which among other things identified Aaron Long as her father by 50%. Mother and daughter got to meet Aaron in the summer of 2017, Aaron and Jessica fell in love, and the three now live together.
15. Bob Harvey and Annette Adkins
Romantic love stories always have a beginning and this one began when Annette Adkins, a Pikeville, Kentucky native moved to Woodbridge, Virginia, to live with an aunt and get a better education at Gar-Field High School. There, she met Bob Harvey; they began dating and even went to prom together; it was a beautiful junior year for them. But then, summer came and Adkins left for a vacation with her family to Florida. There, at Miami Beach, she found another lover who eventually became her husband, his name was John Callahan. Returning to Woodbridge, Adkins harshly broke up with Bob. They graduated from high school, got married to different people, but continued to think about each other. Respectively in 2015 and 2017, Adkins and Bob lost their partners and reconnected when the latter reached out to the former who had been a widow for four years. They rekindled their love and exchanged vows after 63 years of being apart from each other.
14. Max Allegretti and Jillian Hanson
The romantic love stories that stand the test of time are those with a pinch of sadness: where the lovers face untold hardship but are determined to love each other through it. This is the story of Max Allegretti and Jullian Hanson. They were like every other lover until July 2017 when Jullian Hanson was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. Knowing that she was in for a rough time, Hanson didn’t want to drag Max through it, so she offered him the chance to get out of the relationship. Max Allegretti refused to embrace the offer as he understood that Hanson needed him around more than ever. He stood by her through the two years of aggressive treatment that followed and proposed to Hanson on her last day of chemo. They got married in October 2020 and it wasn’t only a celebration of their love but also a celebration of life.
13. Camre and Steve Curto
Love is powerful more than we realize and romantic love stories like that of Steve and Camre Curto have demonstrated that feelings linger on even when all of its memories are taken away. As the story goes, Camre suffered a seizure and had a stroke while giving birth to her son Gavin. Because of this, she was placed in a medically induced coma which left her with no memory when she awoke. She couldn’t even tell who she was and this went on for months. Still hoping to regain her memories, Camre told her husband one day that she don’t know who he is but she know that she loves him. Touched by these words, Steve set out to write a book titled But I Know I Love You. The book relates the story of their love from how they met to their first date and what have you. It has helped Camre regain the memory of her husband and their son.
12. Anne and Bill Duncan
You might find this sad, but for many people, it is one of the most fascinating romantic love stories in recent times. Anne and Bill met in 2001 and got married in 2007. About three years later, Anne noticed that Bill had developed a nasty habit of forgetting things. They soon learned that he couldn’t help it as he was diagnosed with dementia. Anne took up caring for Bill full time but things became difficult as he forgot a lot of things about himself, including the fact that he has been married to Anne for 13 years. At a point when it seemed practically impossible for Anne to have any meaningful conversation with her husband of many years, things took an interesting turn. 72-year-old Bill who was convinced that 70 years old Anne is his new girlfriend, proposed to her and they ended up getting married for the second time. They also had a beautiful honeymoon; all of which Anne described as “the most beautiful and unexpected event ever”.
11. Judy and Will Webb
“Till Death Do Us Part” is a popular phrase peculiar to romantic love stories. It is a powerful vow that expresses the intent to love one’s spouse until the end of life. That is, only death can separate you from your partner. So for a newly married couple, the hope is to live happily ever after until death forces them apart. Judy and Will Webb may not have lived happily ever after but they remained together, even at death. The couple made headlines in March 2019 when they died hours apart while holding hands. They had been married for 56 years when they died and were both 77 years old. It is said that the couple spent almost all of their 56 years of marriage together and was never away from each other until the latter years of their lives when they spent two months apart in different hospitals. According to one of their three daughters, they began having the same health issues and were ultimately placed in hospice care together where they passed on holding hands. For those around them, it was clear they don’t want to live without each other.
10. Barbara and Robert Shackleford
Sometimes, what makes romantic love stories exceptional are not the relentless commitment to a partner no matter the challenges that come with that. At times, it’s things as simple as preserving the early memories of the love. This is the story of Barbara and Robert Shackleford who were married for 59 years. After these years together, Barbara found herself spending Christmas of 2019 alone as Robert had passed on seven months earlier. But then, Barbara would be overwhelmed with a surprise gift from her family. She was gifted a collection of love letters she and Robert wrote to each other back in 1962 while they were in college. She didn’t know he had kept the letters all along; it reminded her of the early days of their love and was as though Robert was reaching out to her and professing his undying love from the grave.
9. Pradyumna Kumar and Ann-Charlotte Mahanandia
What have you done for love and what will you do for love? Pradyumna Kumar Mahanandia is famous as the man who cycled from India to Europe to meet the love of his life, Ann-Charlotte Von Schedvin. Theirs is one of the most inspiring romantic love stories that reinforce the notion that one would do whatever it takes to be with the one they love. Originally from India, Pradyumna became famous in New Delhi for drawing the portrait of Indira Gandhi. Thereafter, he started drawing portraits at Connaught Place in New Delhi where he met 17 years old Ann-Charlotte in December 1975. She had journeyed from London to India in a van for 22 days; where she met the artist and had him draw her portrait. While he was at it, they fell in love and got married but Charlotte eventually returned to her town in Sweden. When Pradyumna decided to join her, he sold all of his belongings, bought a bicycle, and cycled from India to Sweden. It took him four months and three weeks to find his love, they have been happily married since then and are parents to two children.
8. Terry Farley and Steve Downey
Many found true love but lost it along the way; most never get to find it again, but a lucky few get to reunite with their lost flame. That’s what makes Terry Farley and Steve Downey’s story one of the most interesting romantic love stories in recent times. The couple met in 1971 when the former was 14 years old and the latter, 16. Downey was Farley’s first love, they met at a Catholic youth event in Washington, D.C., and hit it off. Soon enough, Downey asked Farley out and they began dating. When they left for college, they kept in touch but the years gradually kept them apart and they eventually got married to other people and built separate lives. Decades later, Downey lost his wife to cancer and around the same time, Farley faced challenges in her marriage which eventually led to a divorce. As fate would have it, she happened upon Downey’s LinkedIn profile in the fall of 2012 and checked it out. Downey was notified about this and he reached out to Farley; they reconnected and got married in March 2015, 44 years after the first time they met.
7. Boris and Anna Kozlov
A long time ago in Russia, sometime in 1946, Anna and Boris fell in love and got married. Three days later, they were forced apart as Boris had to return to his army unit. While he was away, Anna and her family were forced into exile as they were considered to be enemies of the state. Boris returned and searched for Anna to no avail. The years went by and the lovers began to entertain the fear that they may never get to meet again. They eventually got married to different people in an effort to move on with their lives but they continued to think about each other. Over six decades later, in 2007, Boris returned home to visit his parents’ grave. As fate would have it, he saw Anna standing outside the house they spent three nights at after they got married. They got married again and according to Anna, they have not had a single quarrel since they found each other again.
6. Sherry and Eric Yuan
Being in love can make you creative, even though romantic movies often limit that to sneaking your lover into your parents’ home. Nonetheless, romantic love stories like that of Sherry and Eric Yuan have shown that love can make someone think out of the box in a very meaningful way. Eric Yuan is a Chinese-American billionaire famed as the CEO and founder of Zoom Video Communications, a leading technology company known across the globe for the video telephony and online chat services it offers. According to Eric, it was his love for Sherry that inspired his invention. During his freshman year in college, he often embarked on a ten-hour train ride to visit Sherry. He enjoyed spending time with Sherry but the long train ride was killing him, so he started thinking of how to visit Sherry without traveling and Zoom was birthed. Sherry and Eric Yuan have been married since 1991, or 1992.
5. Phyllis and Jack Potter
Romantic love stories like that of Phyllis and Jack Potter restored people’s faith in true love when it came to light. The couple met at a wartime dance and fell for each other after they had their first dance together. It was on the 4th of October 1941 and after meeting her, Jack returned to his quarters in the barracks and documented the event in his diary, expressing that he hopes to meet her again. They did meet again, began dating, and got married about 16 months later. Now, Jack had picked up a habit of writing in his diary everyday; so he documented almost all of their special moments. 70 years into the marriage, he was 91 years old and Phyllis was 93. She was diagnosed with dementia and as Jack needed help caring for her, she was moved into a nearby nursing home. Jack visited her daily and read their love story from his diary to help her cope with the condition. It was a beautiful story that resonated with a lot of people back in 2013. Phyllis and Jack spent the last days of their lives relishing the beautiful moments of their love.
4. Norma and Gordon Yeager
When Gordon fell in love with Norma who was in high school sometime in the 1930s, he didn’t imagine he would have a lifetime of love that would inspire a lot of people and become one of the most beautiful romantic stories ever told. They got married on the 26th of May 1939 and had four kids together: Donna, Roger, Gordon, and Dennis. Life was quite harsh on them as they lost two of their sons, Roger and Gordon, in car crashes. Despite the challenges they faced, the couple remained committed to each other and were said to be inseparable. Gordon and Norma were married for 72 years and were respectively 94 and 90 years old when they were involved in a car crash that ultimately claimed their lives. They shared an intensive care unit and were holding hands when Gordon passed on. It is said that his heart monitor kept beeping after he passed because his hand was still locked to Norma’s and her heart was beating through him. An hour later, Norma joined her husband.
3. Alexander I of Serbia and Draga Mašin
From 1889 to 1903, Alexander I of Serbia reigned as the king of Serbia. He was born on the 14th of August 1876 to King Milan and Queen Natalie of Serbia. Draga Mašin who according to records, was born on the 11th of September 1867, was almost a decade older than Alexander. She had served as a personal assistant to Alexander’s mother which is believed to be how the two met and fell in love. Draga was also a widow as she had been married to an engineer named Svetozar Mašin from 1883 to 1886. Given the foregoing, it came as a shock when King Alexander announced that he would be getting married to Draga in the summer of 1900. Despite the widespread opposition that followed, he got married to the widow on the 5th of August 1900 and banished his mother for opposing the union. Although politics had a hand in it, Alexander and Draga paid the ultimate prize for their love: they were assassinated and mutilated in their palace on the 11th of June 1903.
2. John and Ann Betar
Like other romantic love stories, the story of John and Ann Betar had them face some challenges. They met sometime in 1932 when John was 21 years old and Ann, 17. John was a Syrian refugee who worked as a salesman whereas Ann was in high school; they were neighbors and that’s how they fell in love. But then, Ann’s father wanted her to marry a man 20 years older than her. He thought of it as a wise way to secure his daughter’s future in the face of the depression of the 1930s but Ann wouldn’t have any of that. John and Ann fled Bridgeport, Connecticut, and settled in Harrison, New York, where they got married in November 1932. Many decades later, the two were still married and happily so. Back in 2016, they made headlines as the longest-married couple in the United States; John was 104 years old and Ann was 100 years old. It was said that they had 5 children, 14 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren.
1. Mildred and Richard Loving
Loving v. Virginia was a landmark case that had the Supreme Court of the United States uphold that laws against interracial marriage were unconstitutional. The case revolved around Mildred and Richard Loving who met when they were respectively 11 and 17 years old. They began dating and got married in June 1958 only for the State of Virginia to criminally charge them for it under the Racial Integrity Acto of 1924 which essentially reinforced racial segregation by forbidding interracial marriage. They were arrested and convicted in January of 1959 to one year in prison which was suspended for 25 years if they leave Virginia. The couple moved to the District of Columbia but eventually decided to fight against the system. They did, won, and lived happily ever after until Richard lost his life in an accident in June 1975. Mildred died of Pneumonia in May 2008.
