Everlasting love! Britain’s longest married couple, aged 100 and 102, celebrate their 81st anniversary in their retirement village – and say compromise and ‘taking care of each other’ is the secret to their success
- Ron Bond, 102, and Joyce, 100, married in 1941 after falling in love at first sight
- The couple, from Buckinghamshire, are Britain’s longest married couple
- Revealed their friends told them on the day their marriage wouldn’t last
- The couple said ‘a bit of give and take’ was the secret to their long-lasting love
A couple have celebrated their 81st wedding anniversary, becoming Britain’s longest married couple.
Ron Bond, 102, and wife Joyce, 100, who share a flat in a Milton Keynes retirement village, wed at Newport Pagnell Registry Office, in Buckinghamshire, on January 4, 1941.
Friends initially doubted whether the newlyweds would go the distance but Ron and Joyce have proved them wrong and have spent more than eight decades together.
The couple, who have two children and are great-great grandparents, say compromise and ‘looking after each other’ is the secret to their long-lasting love affair.
Ron Bond, 102, and wife Joyce, 100, who share a flat in a Milton Keynes retirement village, have celebrated their 81st wedding anniversary, becoming Britain’s longest married couple
Ron and Joyce wed at Newport Pagnell Registry Office, in Buckinghamshire, on January 4, 1941, pictured. Friends initially doubted whether the newlyweds, now 100 and 102, would last
They celebrated their milestone anniversary with tea and cake and received a dedication from Ken Bruce on BBC Radio 2, at the request of their son, Bill
Joyce, a former Woolworths worker, said: ‘We never expected to reach 81 years of marriage, we know we are very fortunate to have achieved this amazing goal.
‘It feels excellent. There is no boss in our relationship, we both give and take.’
Joyce was just 19 when she tied the knot with Ron after falling in ‘love at first sight’. Ron, who was 21 on their wedding day, felt the same.
After serving in the Second World War, Ron worked at a local garage.
‘Sometimes life is hard but we work through it together,’ he said. ‘We look after each other too.’
The couple, who have two children and are great-great grandparents, say compromise and ‘looking after each other’ is the secret to their long-lasting love affair
The couple, who have children Eileen and Bill, received a letter from the Queen on their ‘oak’ 80th anniversary in 2021.
The letter read: ‘How wonderful to learn of your eightieth wedding anniversary on 4th January, 2021. I do hope you enjoy this marvellous occasion.’
The couple celebrated this year with a cream tea at ExtraCare’s Shenley Wood Retirement Village in Milton Keynes.
Ron and Joyce celebrated their milestone anniversary with tea and cake and received a dedication from Ken Bruce on BBC Radio 2, at the request of their son, Bill
The couple, who have children Eileen and Bill, received a letter from the Queen on their ‘oak’ 80th anniversary in 2021
Eileen said: ‘My parents are a truly inspiring couple, not only to my brother and I but to their grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
‘It was said of them at the time of their wedding, it would not last long, how wrong did folks get that?
‘You only have to spend time with them to know they love and care for each other, even after 81 years of being married.’
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