01of 05Woman Marries the Love of Her Life 43 Years After Her Mom Pressured Her to End Interracial RelationshipStephen and Jeanne Watts at their wedding in their backyard on Oct. 15, 2022.Molly J. Smith PhotographySparks flew when Stephen Watts and Jeanne Gustavson first met at Chicago’s Loyola University in in 1971. “He was my first love. He was my true love,” Jeanne told PEOPLE. The was only one problem: Jeanne’s mom strongly objected to her White daughter being in a relationship with a Black man. The couple dated in secret for seven years, but Jeanne was afraid of going the distance. “I would’ve lost my entire family,” she said, explaining why she ended their relationship. The decision became a regret that haunted her for decades. Then, in 2021, Jeanne tracked Stephen down to a nursing home in Chicago and made amends. The couple finally got their happy ending on Oct. 15, 2022, when they said “I do” in front of friends and family in the backyard of Jeanne’s Oregon home, where the couple has settled into a peaceful life together. “I gladly took his last name,” says Jeanne Watts. “I’ve wanted it for a long time.“Read their full story here.02of 05Husband Thinks It’s 1993 as He Wakes Up from AccidentKristy and Andrew Mackenzie.Rachel & Diana SaddlemireVirginia couple Andrew and Kristy Mackenzie’s lives were forever changed in a car accident on Father’s Day last year. The near-fatal crash sent them both to the hospital, where Kristy eventually realized the nightmare had erased decades of cherished memories of their life together. In fact, he thought it was 1993. “He knew me, but I could see him looking through me,” Kristy told PEOPLE. “I tell you, that’s the scariest day of my life. Seeing him look through me like that, I didn’t know how I was going to get him back.” But Kristy insisted on being with her husband in the hospital, hopeful that connecting with him would help him remember. She was right, and Andrew’s memory miraculously returned. On Aug. 29, the couple renewed their vows on the beach in North Carolina’s Outer Banks as their children and grandchildren looked on. “I hope it shows others to love like you mean it,” Kristy says, “and never give up on love or each other.“Read their full story here.03of 05Woman Marries for First Time at 73 — and Has No RegretsAudrey Parker Green and Allen Green.Herbert Foster MediaFor 73 years, cancer survivor Audrey Parker Green was okay with the fact that she had never been married. “I got to do a lot of things that if I was married, I wouldn’t have been able to do,” she told PEOPLE of her full life prior to marriage. Then, right before her 73rd birthday in 2021, the Louisiana woman told Allen Green, her boyfriend of more than 20 years, “Wow me.” He proposed. “There was screaming and hollering,” he recalled of the happy moment. “I said, ‘Now, would you accept me to be your husband?'” And in July 2021, the duo said “I do.” The lesson in their love story is that it’s never too late to commit. “What I love about him is that, number one, I’m comfortable,” said Audrey. “I’m me. We laugh. We have fun together.“Read their full story here.04of 05Friends Fall in Love and Marry After One Comes Out as TransgenderKayla Norton and Aaron Capener.CourtesyAaron Capener told PEOPLE his relationship with wife Kayla represents a “whole other level of unconditional” love. That’s because Kayla has supported Aaron through many key chapters, including their youth as classmates and pals in Tennessee and when Aaron came out as a trans man as an adult. “She was a hundred percent supportive,” he said. Their tight bond culminated in their marriage on Dec. 4, 2021. “I love his big heart,” she said. “I see him for who he is. Nothing else matters.“Read their full story here.05of 05Adele Helped This Couple Get EngagedQuentin Brunson and Ashleigh Mann.Felisha Carrasco and Christian GalvanThe world watched as Adele helped Quentin Brunson propose to longtime girlfriend Ashleigh Mann in the singer’s 2021 CBS concert special, during which she serenaded them with “Make You Feel My Love.” “Now, literally even thinking about it brings tears to my eyes,” Ashleigh told PEOPLE in October. “I cannot hear that song without crying.” Still, that didn’t stop them from playing the song as she walked down the aisle at their fall nuptials.Read their full story here.
01of 05Woman Marries the Love of Her Life 43 Years After Her Mom Pressured Her to End Interracial RelationshipStephen and Jeanne Watts at their wedding in their backyard on Oct. 15, 2022.Molly J. Smith PhotographySparks flew when Stephen Watts and Jeanne Gustavson first met at Chicago’s Loyola University in in 1971. “He was my first love. He was my true love,” Jeanne told PEOPLE. The was only one problem: Jeanne’s mom strongly objected to her White daughter being in a relationship with a Black man. The couple dated in secret for seven years, but Jeanne was afraid of going the distance. “I would’ve lost my entire family,” she said, explaining why she ended their relationship. The decision became a regret that haunted her for decades. Then, in 2021, Jeanne tracked Stephen down to a nursing home in Chicago and made amends. The couple finally got their happy ending on Oct. 15, 2022, when they said “I do” in front of friends and family in the backyard of Jeanne’s Oregon home, where the couple has settled into a peaceful life together. “I gladly took his last name,” says Jeanne Watts. “I’ve wanted it for a long time.“Read their full story here.
01of 05
Woman Marries the Love of Her Life 43 Years After Her Mom Pressured Her to End Interracial Relationship
Stephen and Jeanne Watts at their wedding in their backyard on Oct. 15, 2022.Molly J. Smith Photography
Sparks flew when Stephen Watts and Jeanne Gustavson first met at Chicago’s Loyola University in in 1971. “He was my first love. He was my true love,” Jeanne told PEOPLE. The was only one problem: Jeanne’s mom strongly objected to her White daughter being in a relationship with a Black man. The couple dated in secret for seven years, but Jeanne was afraid of going the distance. “I would’ve lost my entire family,” she said, explaining why she ended their relationship. The decision became a regret that haunted her for decades. Then, in 2021, Jeanne tracked Stephen down to a nursing home in Chicago and made amends. The couple finally got their happy ending on Oct. 15, 2022, when they said “I do” in front of friends and family in the backyard of Jeanne’s Oregon home, where the couple has settled into a peaceful life together. “I gladly took his last name,” says Jeanne Watts. “I’ve wanted it for a long time.“Read their full story here.
02of 05Husband Thinks It’s 1993 as He Wakes Up from AccidentKristy and Andrew Mackenzie.Rachel & Diana SaddlemireVirginia couple Andrew and Kristy Mackenzie’s lives were forever changed in a car accident on Father’s Day last year. The near-fatal crash sent them both to the hospital, where Kristy eventually realized the nightmare had erased decades of cherished memories of their life together. In fact, he thought it was 1993. “He knew me, but I could see him looking through me,” Kristy told PEOPLE. “I tell you, that’s the scariest day of my life. Seeing him look through me like that, I didn’t know how I was going to get him back.” But Kristy insisted on being with her husband in the hospital, hopeful that connecting with him would help him remember. She was right, and Andrew’s memory miraculously returned. On Aug. 29, the couple renewed their vows on the beach in North Carolina’s Outer Banks as their children and grandchildren looked on. “I hope it shows others to love like you mean it,” Kristy says, “and never give up on love or each other.“Read their full story here.
02of 05
Husband Thinks It’s 1993 as He Wakes Up from Accident
Kristy and Andrew Mackenzie.Rachel & Diana Saddlemire
Virginia couple Andrew and Kristy Mackenzie’s lives were forever changed in a car accident on Father’s Day last year. The near-fatal crash sent them both to the hospital, where Kristy eventually realized the nightmare had erased decades of cherished memories of their life together. In fact, he thought it was 1993. “He knew me, but I could see him looking through me,” Kristy told PEOPLE. “I tell you, that’s the scariest day of my life. Seeing him look through me like that, I didn’t know how I was going to get him back.” But Kristy insisted on being with her husband in the hospital, hopeful that connecting with him would help him remember. She was right, and Andrew’s memory miraculously returned. On Aug. 29, the couple renewed their vows on the beach in North Carolina’s Outer Banks as their children and grandchildren looked on. “I hope it shows others to love like you mean it,” Kristy says, “and never give up on love or each other.“Read their full story here.
03of 05Woman Marries for First Time at 73 — and Has No RegretsAudrey Parker Green and Allen Green.Herbert Foster MediaFor 73 years, cancer survivor Audrey Parker Green was okay with the fact that she had never been married. “I got to do a lot of things that if I was married, I wouldn’t have been able to do,” she told PEOPLE of her full life prior to marriage. Then, right before her 73rd birthday in 2021, the Louisiana woman told Allen Green, her boyfriend of more than 20 years, “Wow me.” He proposed. “There was screaming and hollering,” he recalled of the happy moment. “I said, ‘Now, would you accept me to be your husband?'” And in July 2021, the duo said “I do.” The lesson in their love story is that it’s never too late to commit. “What I love about him is that, number one, I’m comfortable,” said Audrey. “I’m me. We laugh. We have fun together.“Read their full story here.
03of 05
Woman Marries for First Time at 73 — and Has No Regrets
Audrey Parker Green and Allen Green.Herbert Foster Media
For 73 years, cancer survivor Audrey Parker Green was okay with the fact that she had never been married. “I got to do a lot of things that if I was married, I wouldn’t have been able to do,” she told PEOPLE of her full life prior to marriage. Then, right before her 73rd birthday in 2021, the Louisiana woman told Allen Green, her boyfriend of more than 20 years, “Wow me.” He proposed. “There was screaming and hollering,” he recalled of the happy moment. “I said, ‘Now, would you accept me to be your husband?'” And in July 2021, the duo said “I do.” The lesson in their love story is that it’s never too late to commit. “What I love about him is that, number one, I’m comfortable,” said Audrey. “I’m me. We laugh. We have fun together.“Read their full story here.
04of 05Friends Fall in Love and Marry After One Comes Out as TransgenderKayla Norton and Aaron Capener.CourtesyAaron Capener told PEOPLE his relationship with wife Kayla represents a “whole other level of unconditional” love. That’s because Kayla has supported Aaron through many key chapters, including their youth as classmates and pals in Tennessee and when Aaron came out as a trans man as an adult. “She was a hundred percent supportive,” he said. Their tight bond culminated in their marriage on Dec. 4, 2021. “I love his big heart,” she said. “I see him for who he is. Nothing else matters.“Read their full story here.
04of 05
Friends Fall in Love and Marry After One Comes Out as Transgender
Kayla Norton and Aaron Capener.Courtesy
Aaron Capener told PEOPLE his relationship with wife Kayla represents a “whole other level of unconditional” love. That’s because Kayla has supported Aaron through many key chapters, including their youth as classmates and pals in Tennessee and when Aaron came out as a trans man as an adult. “She was a hundred percent supportive,” he said. Their tight bond culminated in their marriage on Dec. 4, 2021. “I love his big heart,” she said. “I see him for who he is. Nothing else matters.“Read their full story here.
05of 05Adele Helped This Couple Get EngagedQuentin Brunson and Ashleigh Mann.Felisha Carrasco and Christian GalvanThe world watched as Adele helped Quentin Brunson propose to longtime girlfriend Ashleigh Mann in the singer’s 2021 CBS concert special, during which she serenaded them with “Make You Feel My Love.” “Now, literally even thinking about it brings tears to my eyes,” Ashleigh told PEOPLE in October. “I cannot hear that song without crying.” Still, that didn’t stop them from playing the song as she walked down the aisle at their fall nuptials.Read their full story here.
05of 05
Adele Helped This Couple Get Engaged
Quentin Brunson and Ashleigh Mann.Felisha Carrasco and Christian Galvan
The world watched as Adele helped Quentin Brunson propose to longtime girlfriend Ashleigh Mann in the singer’s 2021 CBS concert special, during which she serenaded them with “Make You Feel My Love.” “Now, literally even thinking about it brings tears to my eyes,” Ashleigh told PEOPLE in October. “I cannot hear that song without crying.” Still, that didn’t stop them from playing the song as she walked down the aisle at their fall nuptials.Read their full story here.
source: people.com
