An elderly couple has proved that love knows no boundaries of age, and that it is not impossible to love again, even if it comes decades after your first love.
John and Phyllis Cook have stunned people across the globe after they found love at ages above a century.
The senior couple had been dating for a whole year after they met for the first time in their assisted living home in Ohio, the NBC 24 reports.
With their love blooming each passing day, they finally spoke the vows and obtained the marriage license to make their relationship ‘official.’
Speaking of his marriage, John, a veteran of World War II, said: “It wasn’t the plan, but we got here, and they said we could marry you here.”
“I said, ‘good, let’s get it over with,” the 100-year-old added.
According to the outlet, both Phyllis and John are widows. The couple said their love for each other grew with every day they spent together.
And since 102-year-old Phyllis is a devout Christian, marriage was meant to be the next step in their ‘unusual’ love story.
“To tell you the truth, we fell in love with each other,” Phyllis said. “I know you think that may be a little bit far-fetched for somebody our age, but we fell in love with each other.”
John added: “Well, we were just compatible in a whole lot of ways, found ourselves enjoying each other’s company.”
A report published by the Institute for Family Studies in 2018 noted that the couple is among the rising number of senior citizens who marry or remain married well into the golden years of their age.
The report establishes that the number of married people aged above 65 has been steadily growing since the 60’s.
And, alarmingly, the number of married people aged 18 to 64 is on a decline. As a matter of fact, the percentage of married young people has fallen to a record low of 48.6% as of 2016.
The increasing number of married senior citizens can partly be attributed to longer life expectancy than it was 50 years ago.
Stats show that there are now 80 women per 100 men aged 65 and above, while this figure used to be 64 women for 100 men in the 60’s.
For people above the age of 75, there are now 68 women per 100 men compared to 48 for 100 in the 60’s.
According to John and Phyllis, the key to successful marriage even after crossing a century is providing the independent space to their significant other.
When asked what is the favorite thing for John to do to his sweetheart, his response was enough to explain things.
“Well,” he said, “I probably shouldn’t talk about that.”